SITUATION AND AMENITIES: Roundstone derives its name from the anglicised corruption of Cloch Na Rón, the rock of the seals. The bay was used by smugglers into the 18th Century while the village itself dating back to the 1820's was built by Alexander Nimmo.

Roundstone is an exceedingly charming village tucked away on the rugged Connemara coastline. The village is both friendly and inviting with a wide range of amenities including shops, post office, school, hotels, and restaurants most of which overlook the wide harbour and have stunning views over the Connemara landscape. There is an abundance of breathtaking beaches close by, especially Dog's Bay and Gorteen Bay which attract a large number of visitors and are justly famous for their exceptional beauty and long white sandy beaches.

The lands which extend to circa 10 acres are located directly next to Michael Killeen Park. The park was built on the grounds of an old Franciscan monastery that was first established in 1835. The Franciscan monks left the monastery in the mid 1970's. The monastery was bought by the Irish Development Authority (I.D.A) and it was then demolished in 1980 to provide small workshops to be built alongside a small housing development in order to facilitate craft workers and artisans bringing suitable projects to the centre. Today, the workshops are now occupied by Roundstone Musical Instruments manufacture a range of musical instruments and souvenir shop, Roundstone Ceramics make hand made pottery and The House of Magoide makes and sells jewellery and gifts.

The bell tower in the centre of the park and the old monastery walls surrounding it are the last remaining features of the old monastery and this historic site.

THE LANDS: Extending to circa 10 acres, the lands have access to a council maintained road with a right of way abutting the lands. The lands are separated into two parcels by the track providing the right of way.
Parcel 1 being nearest the road, extends to circa 4.9 acres of mixed quality lands, with a majority being overgrown with Gorse and scrub. The lands are flat and boundaries partially defined. The site is located on the western side of Monastery Road a short distance to the south of the village centre and has a small road frontage consisting mainly of the entrance gate into the lands. There is a row of houses to the North along the R341 with long back gardens and there is housing and a number of craft shops to the east of the site at the end of Monastery Road (Michael Killeen Park). There is a row of terraced houses on Monastery Road on the way up to the village and there is footpath and public lighting along the road.

Parcel 2 - Being a lovely parcel of land extending to circa 4.5 acres of good quality lands extending to the Atlantic ocean. The lands are currently divided into two fields with the southern field being partially overgrown.


PLANNING: THE PROPERTY IS BEING SOLD ON AN 'AS IS' BASIS AND NOT SUBJECT TO PLANNING.

This is an opinion and not to be relied upon in respect to obtaining planning.

The site is governed by the planning policy contained in the Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028 (Development Plan). There is no local area plan or zoning plan for the village. Roundstone is identified as a Rural Settlement (level 7) in the Core Strategy (Chapter 2) of the Development Plan, which sets out the development strategy for the towns and villages in the county. Roundstone is in Zone 4 Landscape Sensitivity Category 2-4 and in Zone 3 Structurally Weak Area.

The policy contained in the Development Plan for the development of Rural Settlements is as follows (SS7); In the case of smaller settlements for which no specific plans are available, development shall be considered on the basis of its connectivity, capacity (including social, cultural, and economic, infrastructural and environmental capacity) and compliance with the Core Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy, good design, community gain and proper planning and sustainable development.'

The Development Plan does not give a recommended residential density for rural settlements. Section 2.4.11 of the Development Plan states the following in relation to the rural population; ' support for housing and re population, as necessary, taking place within towns and villages will help to act as a viable alternative to one-off housing in the open countryside and will contribute to the principle of compact growth.'
Section 4.5.2 of Chapter 4 (Rural Living and Development) of the Development Plan sets out policy for residential development in level 7 settlements. For serviced villages it states; 'In the serviced villages it is considered that there is potential for multi-unit development is considered be appropriate with a site-specific design strategy required to guide the development of each plot. Several design elements are required to be considered for the development to fit within the individual village.'

The following are the relevant policies contained in this section;
RC 1: 'It is the policy objective of the Planning Authority to encourage the sustainable, balanced development of our villages in an incremental manner, with the emphasis on small scale development over a medium to long term period, in keeping with the character of the settlement.'
RC 3; 'To support the development of a 'New Homes in Small Towns and Villages' initiative in consultation with Irish Water and other stakeholders through the provision of water services and serviced sites within the existing footprint of rural villages.'
RC 6: 'Within the footprint of villages, development will be considered where it involves multi-house developments, subject to services, siting, design, protection of residential amenities and normal Development Management criteria as outlined in Chapter 3 Place Making, Regeneration and Urban Living and Chapter 15 Development Management Standards.'

PHOTOGRAPHY: All photographs are only to be used as identification and the accuracy of the red lines cannot be relied upon.

BER: Exempt
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