Northern Area Plan 2016
Coleraine Borough: Portstewart

In the context of the Regional Development Strategy published in September 2001, Portstewart is a small coastal town between the Strategic Natural Resources of the Foyle Estuary and the Causeway Coast. By 2001 the town had a permanent population of 7,803, including a large student population. With a considerable number of visitors, particularly the occupiers of second homes, the number present is often significantly greater than this.

Not only is Portstewart physically close to Coleraine, but along with Portrush the three towns function effectively as a single urban area with a permanent population of approaching 40,000. As such, Portstewart is part of a local cluster of hubs, contributing to the synergy of a larger urban complex. Although it has many of the facilities of a modest size town, it now primarily functions as a suburb of Coleraine. Portstewart however has the added attraction of a popular coastal town, with considerable numbers of staying and day visitors.

In the 15 years from mid 1988 to mid 2004, a total of 1,701 new dwellings were completed in the town. This is considerably more than the 930 dwelling completions postulated by the North East Area Plan for the period from 1988 to 2002. The relatively high rate of house construction over the past 16 years, has resulted in a slightly larger permanent population than anticipated, but primarily has facilitated the rapid growth of second homes and dwellings occupied by students in the town. In 1989 there were an estimated 402 dwellings that were not occupied as permanent residences (14% of all dwellings). By 2001 this had more than tripled to an estimated 1,247 (30% of all dwellings). There has been major residential expansion on green-field sites along the eastern periphery of the town. There has also been a considerable amount of brown-field development since 1988, with 474 dwellings completions that is 28% of the total. This has tended to increase in recent years.

Portstewart is 7 kilometres north west of Coleraine, 95 kilometres north west of Belfast and 55 kilometres north east of Londonderry with good road links to the Northern Corridor.

The town developed from a small fishing village to a modest size seaside resort in the mid 19th Century under the influence of a local landlord, John Cromie. Its development and character was, however, profoundly influenced by the sabbatarian sensitivities of the Cromies and the consequent resistance to a railway connection in the mid 19th Century. As a result the scale of development for the next century was more modest than that of Portrush which, in contrast to Portstewart, rapidly expanded particularly in the late Victorian era with the mass tourism market. Even after a tram connection was provided from Portstewart to Cromore to link with the railway, the town developed with a more genteel character. With the ascent of the car as the predominant means of travel through the 20th Century Portstewart developed a wider role as a popular holiday and recreational destination, along with a significant dormitory function due to its proximity to Coleraine as well as being a local service centre.

From the 1950s until into the 1980s the town’s main development thrust was as a pleasant residential area, with the steady construction of new dwellings in the suburbs mainly for owner occupation. Unlike Portrush where there was a rapid expansion of static caravan parks, Portstewart continued to avoid the effects of mass tourism. Over the past 15 years however, there is a widespread perception that the character of the town has changed through the rapid growth of the student population and the accelerating expansion of second home ownership. There is widespread local opinion that the permanent community is at risk from being overwhelmed by this tide of seasonal residents, who have only a limited role in the commercial and social life of the community.

The intimate relationship of the town with the sea, particularly along the west facing Promenade, is a memorable feature of the town. Flanked on the west by the 3 kilometre long Portstewart Strand and associated extensive dunes, and on the east by a rocky coast of low headlands, the town has an outstanding location looking across to Inishowen. Inland the wooded Cromore estate is a major visual and environmental asset.