County Clare’s Loop Head Lighthouse is to see redevelopment work that will benefit both nature and people.

The plans will see the addition of a café, visitor centre and expanded car park, as well as four looped walks and visitor signage, while taking care to respect the sensitive habitats of Loop Head, which is home to an internationally important breeding seabird colony and some amazing coastal and cliff-edge habitats.

The project, led by Clare County Council, will improve the visitor experience and is likely to bring more visitors to the site, a special area of conservation. The new visitor car park will provide extra spaces, as well as bicycle and electric vehicle (EV) charging spaces.

Ecologists from RSK Group company Inis Environmental Consultants undertook a range of sensitive species surveys, including a boat-based census of the internationally important seabird colony on the headland, as well as carrying out the Appropriate Assessment, including writing the Natura Impact Statement for the development. By taking on the proposed mitigation measures, the development will seek to reduce impacts to the species of wildlife that live at Loop Head in addition to allowing the sensitive habitats in the area to recover.

Inis Environmental Consultants Technical Director Dr Alex Copland said: “The existing braided path network across the Loop Head site will be replaced with a series of waymarked paths. This will handle a greater number of visitors but will concentrate them in a smaller area, keeping them off the old paths across the headland, where continued long-term use has degraded the habitat.

“In combination with new signage to inform visitors about the birds that call the site home, highlighting the importance that they are not disturbed, and allowing visitors to engage and explore the habitats at the site, overall this will deliver a net positive result for the environment.”

The project has been granted planning approval and is now seeking the funding resources to schedule construction works.

Alex said: “The site is an important breeding and nesting area for seabirds from spring, but during autumn large numbers of waders and passerines can be seen migrating. A key mitigation strategy has been the timing of the works to fall outside these important seasons.”

As well as being the nesting site for important seabirds, the waters off the cliffs and the mouth of the River Shannon are home to grey seals, minke whales, humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins.

The new walking trail will feature six designated viewing points, and the path network will guide visitors around the headland via four looped walking trails ranging from 0.9 to 4.5 kilometres in length, Alex said.

Clare County Council Project Manager Deirdre O’Shea said: “Loop Head Lighthouse is steeped in history and rich in heritage. It dates to the 1670s, is one of two Signature Discovery Points in County Clare along the route of the Wild Atlantic and is one of 16 Great Lighthouses of Ireland. The developments will support the local community and encourage the public to experience the rich heritage and history of the lighthouse and surrounding peninsula, as well as support the incredible wildlife and natural environment along the coast.”

The cliffs surrounding Loop Head Lighthouse were notably used as a filming location for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.