Spanish Point
Spanish Point Location and Context Spanish Point is a dispersed settlement located on Mal Bay with a picturesque coastal setting and Blue Flag beach. It is also only a short distance from its linked settlement of Miltown Malbay. Located on the Wild Atlantic Way, Spanish Point has seen considerable development over recent years in the form of tourism related activity anchored by two successful, highquality hotels and other guest houses. The range of accommodation available to the visitor is further diversified by the provision of holiday homes and well-maintained caravan parks with dramatic views of the coastline. Spanish Point is well positioned to harness the opportunities presented by its high-quality coastal environment and its prominent location on the Wild Atlantic Way. It is ideally suited to the development of water sports such as surfing. The permanent resident population is served by the secondary school with the majority of services based in Miltown Malbay. The strategy for Spanish Point is to encourage small-scale incremental residential growth that will be reflective of the rural nature of the settlement. Also, proposals for any suitably scaled and appropriate commercial or employment generating development will be encouraged. Spanish Point is supplied with water from the West Clare Regional Water Supply (Old) and Miltown Malbay Water Supply scheme with water treatment plants Old Doolough and Rockmount. There is currently no public wastewater treatment plant serving Spanish Point. In the event of future development proposals within the village the EPA Code of Practice for Wastewater Treatment Systems must be strictly adhered to in order to ensure that there are no significant long-term effects on the Annagh River which flows along the southern boundary of the settlement and is currently at ‘poor status’. Any future development including alterations to existing commercial or employment generating development, will require private wastewater treatment subject to suitable site-specific conditions and must ensure they comply with the EPA Code of Practice for On Site Wastewater Treatment Systems. A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) adjoins the settlement boundary of Spanish Point to the west of the village: Carrowmore Point to Spanish Point and the Islands SAC and Mid Clare Coast SPA. Future development must ensure there are no adverse effects on the SAC and SPA site integrity, or the 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. Spanish Point is also located adjacent to a proposed Natural Heritage Area.
__________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029
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