12.8.1 Belview

12.8.1 Belview

Belview Port was developed in 1992 and its subsequent growth has been a significant driver of economic development in the county.  Belview is located on the River Suir about 10 miles upstream from the open sea, adjacent to the Dublin/Waterford M9 motorway.

Belview Port is a Tier 2 Port, identified in the RSES as Ireland’s closest multi-nodal port to Continental Europe with a significant capacity for growth. Belview is also listed on the Ten-T Network, which currently handles 1 million tonnes of primarily Agricultural bulk product and 100,000 tonnes of break bulk.

An Area Action Plan for Belview was completed in 2002, which aimed to provide for portal and industrial development within a planning framework which safeguarded local environmental resources.  To update this, a Local Area Plan (LAP) was made for the area of Ferrybank and Belview in 2009 and reviewed in 2017^[1]. 

IDA Ireland owns a Strategic Site in the Belview industrial area, which is suitable for large-scale projects^[2]. During the course of the last Development Plan the Council along with the IDA and Department of Environment Community and Local Government invested significantly in upgrading water services at Belview.  With improvements to the Belview Strategic Water Supply Scheme and the Gorteens Waste Water Treatment Plant, the port can now cater for expansion in suitable employment enterprises, as set out in the LAP and in Chapter 5. 

Belview is served by the Limerick to Rosslare railway line (Belview to Rosslare has been closed since 2010).  Belview has direct access, via the N29 road, to and from National Primary Route N25 (Euroroute E30) and the Country’s motorway system. 

Belview was identified in the RSES as requiring improved rail access and will benefit from the upgrade of the adjacent railway line to improve accessibility for bulk freight and to build the region’s international connectivity.  The upgrade of the N29 will enable lands to be released to facilitate Port expansion (See Section 12.11.6 National Road Objectives).

The Council will support and promote the development of the necessary port infrastructure and associated industrial and distribution activities as well as associated rail and road connectivity required to support the development of the Port of Waterford, Belview.

Objectives:

12U        Construct a roundabout on the N29 at the L3412 (Rathculliheen) junction.

12V        Provide for traffic calming measures between the roundabout and the port gate on the N29

12W      To introduce a 60km/hr speed limit on the section of the N29 between the roundabout and the port gate.