February 2026 Village Plan Update
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Castlerock Community Association: Village Plan update February 2026 |
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GOAL ONE: Enhance Castlerock’s built environment and infrastructure |
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Reinstall and maintain the historic railway bridge |
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council (CC&GBC) approved refurbishment and reinstallation of the bridge. Work underway expected completion second quarter of 2026. CCA planning underway for village celebration when bridge is returned. ————————————————————————————————————————– |
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Preserve historic buildings and social history of village and its people |
CCA facilitated workshops including Laughter in the Landscape and worked with tour providers on walking tours of the Village |
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Improve facilities in the Village Ensure safe road crossing by Hezlett Primary School |
Working with Landscape Partnership Scheme -Completion of Tales and Trails including changing shelter. ————————————————————————————————————————— – Shower fixed ————————————————————————————————————————— Working with CC&GBC council – to maintain road signage – for the promenade wall to be fixed following some of the tiles becoming loose and falling off CCA worked with Hezlett primary School and the Education Authority to campaign for the return of a “lollipop person” crossing person, raising awareness about road safety in the village. ———————————————————————————————————————- |
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GOAL TWO: Enhance and protect Castlerock’s natural environment |
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Village Beautiful CCA’s polytunnel |
-Annual programme of planting up of tubs and baskets around the Village by Volunteers. CC&GBC providing the plants and carrying out the watering during the Summer -Twelve polytunnel plots at Hezlett house occupied. Enables local people/families to grow their own vegetables/fruits and promote social inclusion ——————————————————————————————————————————— |
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Enforcement of regulations on littering and dog fouling |
-CCA informed via facebook CC&GBC’s app on how to report littering and dog fouling incidents ———————————————————————————————————————————— |
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Co-ordinate a series of beach clean ups |
-Through the “Live Here, Love Here” banner regular clean ups are organised to coincide with other events like the Easter Egg Hunt -A number of litter pickers have been issued to Volunteers who regularly do clean ups on their walk around the Village and on the beach -CCA’s equipment was also used by 1st Castlerock Scout Group to carry out a beach clean-up ——————————————————————————————————————————————- |
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Delivery of Annual Walkfest |
-Next Walkfest date is August 2026 ———————————————————————————————————————————— |
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Strengthening of CCA volunteering and engagement |
-Volunteer recruitment has been successful for events such as Winter Warmer, One off events such as Castlerock’s Magical Christmas, Easter Egg Treasure Hunt More volunteers needed for Village Beautiful ——————————————————————————————————————————————– |
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Enhance political engagement |
-CCA’s Centre was offered to all Bann Councillors as an opportunity for a “drop in” Centre -All prospective Bann Councillors were invited to meet with CCA in 2025 ——————————————————————————————————————————————- |
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GOAL THREE: Support people and the wider community |
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Deliver inclusive programme of events: -Extension of Winter Warmer -Seasonal and Celebratory experience (e.g. Easter Egg Hunt) -Sessions held in January 2026 for ideas for future activities/event |
Winter Warmer continued to run 2025-2026 its fourth season Christmas Elf Hunt Castlerock’s Magical Christmas Pumpkin carving Reimagining the Easter Egg event as a hunt for pictures around the village Ideas to be reviewed |
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Enhance use of the Centre to create a Community Hub |
-In spite of use by a number of groups (book club, creative writing, British Legion), the rising cost of running and maintaining the Centre resulted in the difficult decision to close the Centre. The Centre closes 31.3.26 – The CCA will work with other venues around the village to continue running programmes and events —————————————————————————————————————— |
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Explore options for engaging all sections of the Castlerock Community |
Strong working relationships exist with -1st Castlerock Scout Group-Castlerock’s Magical Christmas, -Local Businesses-Castlerock’s Magical Christmas/Fundraising Events -Local School and Playgroup-Castlerock’s Magical Christmas, Easter Poster – Local churches, sharing information about events, use of hall. |
Village Plan 2023 - 2027
The Castlerock Village Plan outlined in this document will apply for the period 2023 until 2027. The plan was facilitated by Noelle Donnell of Hummingbird NI and was commissioned and financed by Castlerock Community Association (CCA). The Plan should belong to the whole community.
The Castlerock Community Association is a registered charity that operates for the benefit of the people living in and around Castlerock, delivering various activities and events through its management committee who are elected annually at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
This new plan has been developed in a post-Covid environment where economic and social recovery are key. At the core of this plan are a series of objectives and actions designed to conserve and celebrate the village’s built, natural and cultural heritage, safeguard its people and deliver a thriving economy.
The people of Castlerock are proud of its character: this is a community where residents and visitors create a unique and dynamic quality of life within a village setting on the Causeway Coast, that is attractive to many.
To ensure the most appropriate plan was developed for the village and community a planning process was agreed. This focused on a comprehensive consultation model that included:
- A public consultation event attended by 93 people
- A series of focus groups with the local business community, two community-based groups and residents
- A community audit resulting in 184 responses
- A series of interviews and
- Public sessions in the Castlerock Information Centre involving 28 local people presenting their ideas and priorities.
The location, context and history of Castlerock is outlined and the plan will be updated later in 2023 to include the 2021 Census data when available. The priority themes and actions have been developed within the broader policy context, most relevant to the geographic area, community and people. A brief overview of such initiatives has been included for reference. A SCOT (Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities and Threats) analysis has been created to highlight the central points arising from the consultations. The process has also helped CCA form its vision for Castlerock and highlight the most relevant themes that have emerged since the previous plan was created. The previous Castlerock Village Plan had three core themes whilst this plan has five:
- Transport and Infrastructure
- Planning and Housing
- Environment/Heritage
- Community Services and Facilities
- Village Life
To address issues raised under each of the themes, a targeted Action Plan has been developed. The Action Plan will inform how the organisation and village can move forward in the period 2023 until 2027. It highlights the need for further local auditing and research, and emphasises the importance of partnership working, a solid community development approach and continued collaborative support from within the local community, visitors, business and statutory agencies alike.
The Next Steps section of this document reiterates the importance of the people who live in and love Castlerock – those who know its character, history and dynamic to help make the plan reality. Finally, it is important to include the caveat that whilst CCA can be ambitious moving forward, it is also important to be realistic and recognise what is achievable within the context of a rural, voluntary community group with limited resources and time.
The full plan can be downloaded below
Village Plan 2018-2022 Update
The 2018 Village Plan was based on consultations with local groups and residents and put forward actions that were considered important and feasible to implement. The 2018 plan – like the one being developed in 2022 – was used to influence statutory bodies and service providers and provided evidence of the need for various projects when applying for funding. The plan was a framework for action in Castlerock for the period 2018-2022 and relied on the Castlerock Community Association (CCA) working in partnership with different bodies.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part and given feedback on the next stage of updating the plan.
A PDF document detailing the actions taken, and partners involved, can be found here:
Village Plan 2018-2022
- Promenade Lighting Scheme (low level lighting)
- Street Furniture and Planters
- Outside shower for surfers adjacent to the toilet block
Castlerock Planning Service Maps
Local Development Plan 2030
Preferred Options Paper
Initial Settlement Context Appraisal (including Second Homes Analysis)
Section 1: Initial Settlement Appraisal Content
Settlement Context Appraisal Maps
Survey work was undertaken in late 2016 and early 2017. This Initial Settlement Appraisal is informed by the following accompanying maps:
Map 1: Settlement Context
Map 2: Local Landscape Policy Areas
Map 3: Built and Natural Environment
Map 4: Flooding and Contours
Map 5: Aerial Photograph
Maps from CCAG BC website: HERE