Project team undertaking extensive consultations with landowners along the proposed 74km route
A joint initiative between Cork County Council and Waterford City and County Council, the proposal makes provision for a 74km stretch of walking/cycling pathway, roughly following the footprint of the former Mallow-Dungarvan railway line and linking towns and villages including Killavullen, Ballyhooly, Fermoy, Ballyduff and Cappoquin.
At a recent meeting between officials from both authorities and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), the association said many members had expressed “serious concerns” about the impact the Greenway could have on their farms.
Chief among these was that much of the former railway line was no longer in public ownership, with many sections of it purchased by farmers over the years.
IFA North Cork chairman Pat O’Keeffe said these concerns were brought sharply into focus after it emerged during the meeting that 88% of the proposed Greenway would be comprised of private, active farmlands and only 12% of public lands.
“Farmers now own and use most of the land where the abandoned railway line existed. It’s part of their farm and in many cases includes private houses and farmyards,” said Mr O’Keeffe.
“There was real anger and frustration expressed over the lack of proper consultation and engagement, and the failure to understand and appreciate the impact of a Greenway severing or dividing active farms,” said Mr O’Keeffe,
Following the meeting senior project team officials have provided an update on what they described as “local community engagement activities.”
They said the team was following Best Code of Practice for National Regional Greenway’s and had appointed a project liaison officer to commence individual landowner consultations.
“At this stage, the project liaison officer had has visited more than 170 individual private households – primarily located between Mallow and Lismore – and met with the landowners and their families. Also, a meeting recently took place with the Irish Farmers Association representatives to share the progress of the project to date and to listen to the concerns of their members,” said a project team spokesperson.
“This landowner engagement is in addition to the initial public consultation undertaken back in 2022, with the key themes emerging at that time including safety and security, environment concerns, and the potential impacts on local residents, farms and businesses,” they added.
The spokesperson said the team expects to visit around 70 remaining landowners, the majority of whom are located between Lismore and Dungarvan, over the coming month.
“All feedback will be reviewed and refinements to the route will be considered and analysed by the project team. A further round of public consultation is expected to take place towards the end of the year,” said the spokesperson.
Welcoming the progress of engagement process to date Cork County Council senior engineer Sean Callery said the project teams was grateful t local landowners for making themselves available and for engaging so robustly.”
“The project liaison officer has received a lot of valuable feedback and all of this will be analysed over the coming months. The route will be refined where possible in order to minimise farm severance and accommodate landowners, wherever feasible,” he added.
His Waterford City and County Council counterpart, Sean Dobbs, said it was “very encouraging to see the community engage at this level.”
“This proposed new Greenway would create a fun, healthy experience for local people and tourists alike, one that supports the economic development of the region and the wellbeing of our citizens,” said Mr Dobbs.