Location
The village of Stradbally is located approximately 13km from Dungarvan, and approximately 7.5km south of the N25 to Waterford (near Kilmacthomas).  Two beach coves, Ballyvooney and Stradbally Cove, are located within walking distance of the village center.

(Download Stradbally (adobe .pdf, 616 kbs)  Map Here) and also download the pages relating to Zoning Objectives (word .doc, 183 kbs) . The Zoning Objectives and Landuse Zoning Matrix need to be used when looking at the individual settlement zonings.

Services
Stradbally's service base comprises of two Public houses, one of which also functions as a tea garden, a local shop (which also provides a Post Office outlet), a butcher's shop and the Stradbally Credit Union. Most of these, except the Credit Union, are centrally located.  The village also has a comprehensive range of community services, including GAA field and hall, new soccer fields, a community hall, two churches, and three primary schools.  The town also has an old (largely disused) ball alley.

Characteristics
A picturesque village, Stradbally has won numerous awards in the National Tidy Towns Competition, and was a recipient of a Heritage Award in the 'Entente Florale' competition in 1990. In 2002, the village won the overall prize of the Gold metal in their category. The Village Green and square is the focal point of four converging roads. Stradbally is also characterized by landscaped, planted open spaces, and stone boundary walls. The retention, enhancement and incorporation of these characteristics should be the objective of any design or development proposal for the area.

Infrastructure
The water supply in Stradbally comes from a local source, has recently been upgraded and has limited spare capacity. The sewage disposal system requires upgrading.  A wastewater treatment plant will be provided as part of the County Waterford Seven Villages Sewerage Scheme, which is expected to commence construction in 2007.

Despite the above, any constraint to development is associated with the infrastructural deficit as outlined above and development proposals will need to cater for this in any applications for permission along with satisfying the Planning Authority as to the standards for new development at Section 9.2. These matters will have to be discussed and approved with the Sanitary Services Section of Waterford County Council, prior to any development proposal being submitted for Planning Permission.

Development Strategy
The village of Stradbally is relatively compact with existing development clustered around the village square. As development opportunities have become scarce in the village, continuous ribbons of linear development have begun to appear on the main roads on the outskirts of the village. There are relatively large amounts of land available within the proposed development boundary to cater for new development, including appropriate backland development.

The development strategy for Stradbally is as indicated on the Stradbally Land Use Zoning Map, and is designed to draw the different strands of development together, in order to establish a firm nucleus for the village. The policies and objectives of the County's Settlement Strategy, as outlined in  Chapter 3 - Settlement (word .doc, 791 kbs) of the Development Plan, will also be applicable. 

Any development, which impacts negatively on bathing water quality and hence human health, is unlikely to be favourably considered.