£10m visitor centre proposed for Cliffs of Moher

Clare County Council is to put in place a park-and-ride scheme at the Cliffs of Moher to spread the economic benefit throughout north Clare from its proposed £10 million visitor centre at the tourist attraction.

The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre Ltd, a company established by the council, has recently lodged an application for the centre and submitted its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The development is to consist of a two-storey visitor centre built into the hillside behind the existing centre. It will include an audio-visual theatre, restaurant and an exhibition area. Its roof is to be grassed over to lessen the visual impact.

The plan also includes a separate retail centre, to be located in the existing car-park, where parking spaces are to be reduced from 350 to 249.

The cliffs already attract 670,000 visitors a year and the EIS expects this to rise steadily to 800,000 by 2010. The EIS states it is not expected the provision of the visitor facilities at the site will increase visitor numbers over the 2 per cent annual rise currently being experienced.

It does concede that the proposal will be unlikely to accommodate anticipated visitor numbers during individual days in the peak season, proposing a park-and-ride scheme to overcome the problem.

The EIS states: "It is expected these bus links could improve visitor business at the pick-up points in towns and villages who will operate the service." According to the director of service, Mr Gerard Dollard, the scheme will be essential during the construction phase, which will interfere with two summer seasons at the cliffs - the project is to be operational by May 2003.

The proposal was first put forward in 1992. However it was put on hold over contract difficulties between the council and local landowners, the Considine family. This was resolved last year and as part of the deal, the Considines are to operate a retail outlet in the development's retail centre.

The family have been associated with the cliffs for generations. In 1964 they rejected a controversial offer from a German company to buy 60 acres of land that would have given the Germans ownership of the land over the cliffs. Tony Considine says it is important local people benefit from the tourist potential of the cliffs.

However, reservations have been expressed over the plan by the council's co-promoters in visitor facilities at the cliffs, Shannon Development, resulting in the council going it alone. Shannon Development said it could go ahead with a plan only after a fundamental review of the issues involved.

Mr John King of Shannon Development said it was currently carrying out its fundamental review, which would be completed next month. The organisation had to decide if it would make a submission on the application, he added.

While the EIS states there is broad support for the project, there are some who do have reservations.

According to Mr Peter Curtin of Lisdoonvarna Failte: "Global best practice is that you build interpretative facilities on the periphery, but in this instance, the council are building facilities at the centre. That has to be wrong.

"There are concerns in the towns that all we will get from the development is through traffic after visitors have had their lunch and bought their souvenirs at the cliffs."

A decision is due on the application in May.