Policy on Donegal glamping pod developments ‘just not working’
Senior Planner warns Cllr Martin McDermott of not 'killing the golden goose'
Inishowen-based Donegal County Councillor, Cllr Martin McDermott, has called on Donegal County Council to make glamping in Donegal more accessible.
Speaking at a Special Plenary Meeting held at Donegal County Council in Lifford, Cllr McDermott said: “We had discussions about glamping pods and making that a bit more easier for people to get access to. Different people have tried recently again, and we are having an issue when they are not within the town boundaries, such as Clonmany, for instance.
“Can we look at that policy in relation to making that more open? We also have a policy that allows just 10 units for motorhomes. 10 units for somebody to start a business is unviable.
“With the way things are going, we need to look at different ways we can bring tourism. Hotels are getting more expensive as the years go by. We are in a situation where we are not able to do that type of development in the county. Now is the opportunity.”
Eunan Quinn, Senior Planner of Donegal County Council, responded to Cllr McDermott’s comments later in the meeting.
Quinn wanted to emphasise that the council were focusing on aiming for “quality” and not “killing the golden goose.”
He said: “I suppose there is a need, perhaps, to have an understanding of the range of services and developments that we are talking about, because there is a tendency to have a lot of overlap between glamping pods, which is small-scale, glamorous camping, which is different from motorhomes.
“Most of the applications that we have received, certainly since last year, most of the, are essentially holiday homes as opposed to glamping pods. In terms of how they are approached os a body of work.
“The provisions, and the preferred approach from ourselves, is that we are bolstering the facilities in our towns and villages.
“We would have, maybe, the bigger scale, mixed-use facilities with motorhomes and glamping pods together, rather than in isolated sites where the only attraction is that there is a view.”
Malin Head-based councillor, Ali Farren, commented: People who go glamping, necessarily don’t want to be near a village.
“I understand that it is a body of work, but I would hate the thought that you could only get a glamping pod or touring caravan pitch next to a town or village.
“For the likes of Malin Head, where there is not a settlement area, they could be good for the area.”
Quinn answered: “It is not necessarily a numbers game, but what is appropriate for a certain place. High quality rather than putting in a high number of units. There are viability issues.
“Our first target is not numbers, it is quality. So you are not ending up with something that is inappropriate in a particular location.”
Cllr McDermott said that whilst he agreed with some of Quinn’s points, the current policy was not working, and that there needed to be a bigger conversation about what was deemed an appropriately-sized proposal.
He said: “There are people in Clonmany and Ballyliffin who are prepared to do that high-end glamping, but they can not do it because of the policy.”
Quinn then stated, “I am happy enough to comment on it, but it is far too detailed for this process. They do need a different approach. Our aim in this is quality, a quality service that is not killing the golden goose.”