INNOVATION PROFILE: Mayo county CouncilQUITE OFTEN it is the simplest ideas that are the most innovative and ultimately the most successful. The award-winning Great Western Greenway in Co Mayo, Ireland's first off-road walking and cycling path, is an excellent example of such a simple idea in action.
The Greenway runs along the line of the disused Westport to Achill railway track, which closed in 1937. At 42km it is the longest such facility in the country and the first portion of the National Cycle Network to be developed.
Those walking or cycling along it enjoy spectacular views of the landscape, the Atlantic Ocean and Clew Bay, as well as shaded areas where they can enjoy the tranquillity of this unique rural setting.
The project has proved tremendously successful already. In its first year of operation – since mid-2011 – a new cycling culture has evolved in all of the towns and villages along the track. About 145,000 people have used the route, contributing more than €7 million to the local economy and supporting more than 90 jobs in the process.
The project originated in a 2006 proposal by elected Mayo County Council members to upgrade the county’s walking tourism product, says Anna Connor, Mayo County Council walking and cycling development officer.
“They proposed that we look at what they had in the English Lake District and we found that the area was full of tourists with a great buzz,” she says. “Mayo has everything that the Lake District has in terms of natural beauty and proximity to an international airport, so we decided to look at what we could do [to get the idea off the ground].”
This led to the council receiving funding from the Department of Transport to open up the railway line to cyclists.
The Greenway is not just for walkers and cyclists, however, but appeals to large sections of society. It has become a world- class holiday attraction, an idyllic linear recreational park, a sustainable transport corridor and an employment-generating enterprise that has stimulated regeneration, entrepreneurialism and no little pride among the communities along its route.
“It is a major signature project for us in Mayo County Council and the other development organisations in the county,” says development officer Neil Sheridan.
“What it has generated for the local economy has been fantastic. While using the route is free, a lot of people stop for tea, ice cream and so on and spend money in other ways.
“This is inspiring entrepreneurs and acting as a catalyst for growth, regeneration and community development.”
Examples of this entrepreneurial activity include the Gourmet Greenway, a food trail showcasing artisan food produced along or near the route, and Artists on the Greenway, a painting, education and exhibition initiative of local artists and sculptors.
An integrated recreational plan was developed for the Greenway, which includes the track, a linear park, play facilities and existing recreational facilities. In addition the Greenway, acting as a spine, crosses 15 nationally accredited walking trails, which has enabled the linking up of a comprehensive network of adventure trails in this area of Mayo.
Sheridan points to the innovative dimension of the project. “It is an excellent example of innovation – taking a hidden and long-forgotten asset, looking at it in a new way and exploiting its full potential for local and national betterment.”
Until the development of the Greenway, trails in Ireland had been designed and established almost purely for walking or hiking purposes.
The Great Western Greenway, however, was designed for the cycling market, which had not been fully exploited. The concept however went further than cycleway provision to encourage multipurpose use.
Before the Greenway was opened, cycling in Ireland was generally confined to busy public roads, with short and fragmented cycleways available in certain urban areas.
Dedicated cycling infrastructure was generally not available in smaller towns or in rural areas. Provision of off-road cycling facilities as a method of promoting the activity for both domestic users and visitors was a new concept as was the conversion of old railways into pathways.
The Greenway was planned, designed and constructed by Mayo County Council using its own professional staff all within a two-year period. It has also proved to be an excellent demonstration model of what Sheridan calls inclusive community partnership, multi- agency co-operation, creativity, teamwork and flexibility.
He says that the Westport to Achill railway was abandoned by the Great Southern Railway in 1937 and its land was sold to private individuals over a period of 70 years.
Under normal circumstances, an engineering project of this size and scale would involve significant land acquisition to enable its development. However, the Greenway was developed using what are known as permissive access agreements.
Mayo County Council approached each of the 161 landowners along the route seeking an agreement that would permit the development of a path along their railway land and also permit the public to cycle or walk through. No land was purchased nor were any landowners compensated.
“I can’t emphasise enough the role the landowners have played in the project,” says Sheridan. “The project was made possible through their good will. They wished to see the Greenway developed as a local amenity and as a tourist attraction of national significance.”
While permissive access agreements had been used before in Ireland, this was confined to small inexpensive developments. The Greenway is the largest engineering project in which such agreements have been used to date.
This required a considerable change in mindset and a leap of faith on the part of all involved as well as a paradigm shift in the way the council developed the project.
Unlike other engineering projects, where the local authority has full ownership of and responsibility for it, the Greenway landowners and the council have become partners in the development and operation of the Greenway.
A specially established management committee comprising of local landowners, community representatives, schools, business and tourism representatives and Mayo County Council personnel oversee the strategic direction and smooth operation of the Greenway.
“We couldn’t have done it without this partnership,” says Sheridan. “The local Leader Group and Fáilte Ireland also played key roles. Anna Connor, our cycling development officer, has done Trojan work on it as did the development engineer, Pádraig Philbin.
“Everybody was 100 per cent behind it from the start. We have people out there maintaining it and a lot of the time their work goes above and beyond the call of duty. This shows the passion that everyone involved shares for the project.”
This partnership approach has resulted in collaboration in the operation and marketing of the Greenway, too.
It is being offered and marketed as a packaged experience, with a number of services and activities being bundled together.
For example, accommodation is being provided with food, bike hire, guided tours and drop-off and collection services. This has created added value and ensures the customer has a much better experience.
It is already making an impact on the international stage and received the 2011 International European Destination of Excellence award from the European Commission.
It has also been voted Best Cycle Trail in Ireland by Outsider magazine and one of Ireland’s Top 10 Outdoor Activities by the Guardian newspaper as well as receiving an Irish Times Innovation Award earlier this year.
In the future it is planned to extend the Greenway from Westport to Croagh Patrick and also to Castlebar.
In the medium term, it is proposed to extend it as far as the National Museum of Country Life in Castlebar and to the Mayo National Park at Ballycroy. Eventually it is planned to link it into a proposed Connemara Greenway at Clifden, thereby creating a Wild Atlantic Trail that can compete with the best internationally.
“We are looking forward to seeing it go from strength to strength,” Sheridan adds. “It has been hugely beneficial to the local area and has certainly ticked the tourism and economic boxes for the county.”
