Bushmills Development Group
Bushmills is famous the world over for two
reasons - whiskey and basalt columns but there is so much more
to see and do in between these two tourist attractions.
The village grew around seven mills - corn,
flax, paper and a spade mill with foundery all utilising the power
of the flow of the River Bush. It also housed five licensed distilleries
in 1782 but it was from the late 1820's that Bushmills grew and
prospered. Sadly little is left of these early beginnings but
mill stones, evidence of the mill race and a recently renovated
mill wheel can be found around the village.
Bushmills was designated a Conservation Area
in 1992 and is within the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty and for good reason. There are 90 listed buildings in the
village and many have been thoughtfully renovated and maintain
the original style.
A recent tourism study recognised the existing
and the potential significance of tourism in the Bushmills area
and identified a number of needs and opportunities. There are
still a few derelict buildings in the village that are suitable
for development and the Bushmills Development Group have spent
the past number of years identifying a use and site for a CRISP
scheme. The idea of a hostel with budget accommodation travellers
in mind was formalised two years ago and the Group are now in
a position to move forward with the proposed hostel and retail
unit in the Main Street. The funding bodies are in agreement with
the plan and the Group has support from IFI, DoE, NITB, NARA,
and MDC.
The Group hopes that with a CRISP scheme in
the village, many of the Traders will take advantage of the knock
on funding under the Urban Development Programme run by the DoE.
The plan is to encourage more derelict buildings to be renovated
and bring more commercial interest to the village.
The Development Group has nearly fulfilled
its primary aim in bringing CRISP to the village but hopes that
many other ideas will springboard from this one run totally by
ordinary members of the community. The Group has a hard working
committee of 15 members from numerous different groups in the
village. There are strong links being built with the newly formed
residents groups, local businesses and individual interested folk
who wish to encourage the commercial heart of Bushmills to grow
and flourish betweeen the existing major tourist attractions of
The Distillery and Causeway.
The Group successfuly obtained funding in 1996
for a Community Audit and it has been used by many groups in the
Moyle area as a resource aid as well as pin pointing many areas
of work for the local community. It is probable that lessons learned
within the growth period of the Group will aid other projects
to move forward as highlighted by the Audit and with the help
of supportive local groups, Bushmills will move forward strongly
into the 21st century along with the rest of the world.
