This article is from page 8 of the 2011-03-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
THE Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard has thrown its support behind Clare County Council’s plans for a € 6 million development of Doolin Pier.
The planning department of Clare County Council has received more than 30 submissions from members of the public in relation to the project, which is due to be decided in the coming days.
Plans for the pier had been opposed by local surfing groups on the grounds that the development would damage two world renowned waves located at Crab Island and Doolin Pier.
A decision on Clare County Council Part 8 planning permission was due in December last but the elected members of the council asked for more time to be allowed for submissions to be made. A final decision is due to be made at next Monday’s March meeting of the local authority.
In his submission to Clare County Council, Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard said that the new proposal would make the pier safer for use.
“It will make it much safer for commercial craft to use the new pier while Doolin Coastguard will have the space it needs at the existing facility with reduced congestion,” he said.
The project also received supportive submissions from a number of local organisations including The Russell Centre and Doolin Tourism, while a large number of submissions were also received from local and national surf organisations.
In a submission lodged by Cliodhna Fawl of the West Coast Surf Club in Lahinch it is claimed that the pier will be a “serious danger” to surfers in the area.
“Apart from the damage that the proposed work will undoubtedly do to the world famous wave environment, the design poses a serious and significant health and safety threat to the surfers accessing the waves at Doolin Point and Crab Island,” she says.
“Surf tourism is a highly important and valuable income stream for west Clare, throughout the year, and to proceed with the proposed works without any assessment of the impact on these waves or without any input from surfers sends the wrong message not only outside of Clare but also outside of Ireland.”