The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Ballyvaughan Fanore Walking Club is seeking planning permission for a new-single storey clubhouse and community recreation facility at New Pier Road, Ballyvaughan.
A document accompanying the application outlines that the proposed clubhouse is envisoned as a gathering place for the club as well as a recreational space for the local community. The site is owned by the club and is located on the New Pier Road in Ballyvaughan Village.
Regarding the design, the document says, “The clubhouse is designed as a sympathetic, timber frame that sits on a limestone plinth. The height and proportion of the building are in keeping with the scale of the surrounding dwellings. A defining tower marks the entrance to the building and gives the clubhouse a civic character.
“The structure is to be clad in larch and will in time weather, allowing the building to blend into the mature hedgerow and trees that surround the site. The limestone plinth ties the building into the surrounding network of limestone walls.”
It states that the building will be “modest in size at 186m2 and is simple in its form”.
The document also says that the building “is designed to provide an event space for the walking club”.
“A main hall overlooks Galway Bay and opens onto a covered terrace to the north west. This space is served by a small entrance lobby and kitchen facilities.
“The showers, WCs and changing facilities provided are designed to include external access for potential community use. A generous outdoor space provides potential for the storage of kayaks and canoes that are frequently used at the nearby pier.”
Regarding entrance/exit, the document says, “Access to the site will be provided via a new opening along the New Pier Road. As the site is considerably higher than this road, the entrance will slope gently, allowing for this changing in level.
“Great effort has been made to minimise the potential impact of this entrance on the archaeological heritage of the site by positioning the ramp along the north east boundary as much as possible.
“The carefully designed entrance will merge with the existing stone retaining wall and grass bank that borders the New Pier Road, minimising the interruption to the site’s boundary,” the document concludes.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
