Carron
Carron Location and Context The village of Carron is situated to the north of the Burren National Park, approximately 5 kilometres off the R480 to Ballyvaughan. It is a small village consisting of a school, church, post office, pub/ restaurant and hostel. The NUI Galway field research centre is located near the village, as is the Burren Perfumery. Carron is also the trail head for numerous looped walks in the Burren, which attract year-round visitors to the area. The Michael Cusack visitor centre and DigiClare – Connecting Communities Hub is located approximately 1.5km from Carron village. Michael Cusack’s passion for Gaelic games led him to become the founder of the GAA which is an important part of Irish heritage. The strategy for Carron as a small village is to encourage small-scale incremental residential growth that will be reflective of the rural nature of the settlement. Carron is also in an area of extreme groundwater vulnerability which will have implications for future development requiring adherence to the provisions of the Environmental Protection Agency Guidelines relating to wastewater treatment and disposal. Carron is adjacent to two Special Areas of Conservation (SACs); Moneen Mountain SAC to the west of the village and East Burren Complex SAC to the east of the village as well as both being designated as proposed Natural Heritage Areas (pNHAs). Future development must ensure that there are no adverse effects on the SAC’s site integrity, or the site integrity of any other European site as a result of the proposed development. Accordingly, objectives set out in Volume 1 of this Plan relating to European sites and to Appropriate Assessment will apply to any future development proposals in this area. The Natura Impact Report accompanying this Plan (Volume 10a) relevant mitigation measures and recommendations at site and project level. General Objective • To make provision for the sustainable growth of the village which will support existing services and encourage further expansion of the service base, whilst retaining its unique and distinctive character. Employment and Enterprise The sustainable and successful development of tourism is critical to the economy of Carron, which is well positioned to offer a high quality year round product to the discerning visitor. Agriculture also plays a key role in the sustainable management of the Burren in which Carron is situated. Strengthening the links with NUI Galway through the expanded use of the field research centre for lecture series and exhibitions should be encouraged. The recent opening of the DigiClare Cusack Centre Hub and Broadband Connection Point in the Michael Cusack Centre provides an important support for rural social enterprises and the wider __________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029
152
