Northern Area Plan 2016
Moyle District: Bushmills

Bushmills is a small town within the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Bushmills lies within Moyle District however a small area to the West of Dunluce Secondary School and Dunluce Presbyterian Church lies within the Coleraine Borough. Bushmills functions as a gateway to the Causeway Coast as well as a service centre for the surrounding rural area. The town developed around a series of mills that harnessed the water- power of the Bush River. It is best known, however, for Old Bushmills Distillery, which provides considerable employment as well as being a tourist attraction in its own right. The recently re-opened section of narrow gauge railway linking the town with the Giant’s Causeway emulates the pioneering tramway of the 19th Century that carried visitors from Portrush to the Giant’s Causeway via Bushmills. The town has retained, largely intact, much of its small North Irish market town character, with nearly 90 listed buildings. The central area was designated a Conservation Area in 1992. Its convenient location adjacent to the Causeway Coast and its distinctive historic setting makes it an attractive location for tourist and holiday homes.

There has been an upsurge of private housing development in the town since 1990. Some of this has been of particularly high quality, notably Bushford and Riverdale Lodge close to the historic core of the settlement. The 2001 Census population for the town was 1,314.

Bushmills has extensive facilities for a community of its size, including nursery, primary and secondary schools, all with spare capacity AR 2004. The town retains a wide range of local shops, recreational and social facilities. It has an improving tourism infrastructure, with a highly regarded hotel, a recently opened modern hostel, and a range of restaurants. Bushmills is designated a Small Town in the Settlement Hierarchy in Volume 1 of the Plan.

In recent years, the buoyant local housing market has been encouraged by vigorous growth in demand for second homes. By 2002 it was estimated 23% of the all dwellings in Bushmills were second homes, mainly concentrated in the more recent private housing developments.