Community campaigners are challenging the development of a section of the Clew Bay Greenway through the pristine foothills and commonage lands of Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo.
They argue a lack of meaningful consultation with the 42 landholders on the route by Mayo County Council, in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), about decision-making regarding the preferred route is nothing more than “bulldozer bureaucracy.”
Instead, the campaign, “Threat to Belclare to Murrisk Community”, led by landholders Lucy Fabby and Peter Shanley, supports an original plan to upgrade the existing cycleway, which runs from Westport to the village of Murrisk along the undulating and scenic coast road (R335).
It is envisaged that this 6km section from the Westport suburb of Belclare to Murrisk would ultimately be part of a 60km-looped stretch of greenway on the northern and southern shores of Clew Bay incorporating Clare Island and Inishturk and linking in with the Great Western Greenway to Achill.
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“We are all in favour of a greenway but we want it along the main road where it is already partially built and will be of benefit to the community and not just visitors during the summer season. This cycleway could easily be upgraded with crash barriers and cantilevers to enhance the safety of walkers and cyclists and obviate the need for big infrastructural changes,” says Shanley. “There would be no need then to use CPOs [compulsory purchase orders] to divide farms, construct a pathway through a flood plain, an ancient oak forest and up a very steep gradient. Where is the cost-benefit analysis for this unnecessary project?”
Meanwhile, Fabby has kept a daily photographic record of flooding on the proposed greenway since last September.
“Part of the land has been flooded for 40 days since then. The Cloonagh valley, which covers about half the proposed route, has an igneous rock basin which is impenetrable with a narrow gorge running down to the sea causing a huge back-up of flood water,” she explains.
Fine Gael Cllr Peter Flynn has acknowledged that his support for the preferred option will lose him votes in the upcoming local elections. He is a keen cyclist and says the project team has told him that the option of upgrading the existing cycleway and ensuring safety standards “is not as simple as erecting a barrier”.
As the closing date for the submission of observations approaches on March 22nd, Flynn has urged those affected to communicate with the project team.
“Two years ago I proposed a greenway route along that main road between Westport and Louisburgh in order to expedite the connection to Louisburgh from Murrisk. This was when Mayo County Council was charged with the delivery of greenways. At that time greenways were not subject to the safety standards now imposed by TII. Greenways are now required to be a minimum of 3m wide and, if adjacent to a main road, to have an additional 2m divide. There is no option to deviate from this standard. So, regardless of which route is selected there is going to be an impact on landowners and in this case, it will be more extensive if it is along the road,” says Flynn
On the other hand, his Fianna Fáil council colleague Brendan Mulroy argues “TTI should not be applying the same logistics for developing greenways as used for developing road networks … The best route for a greenway isn’t necessarily through the middle of a field. The consultation process in this case has been horrendous with people basically being shown a map of the route and told to take it or leave it. The potential use of CPOs as part of the process is a very sharp instrument and has just caused fear out there.”
A council spokesman confirmed it had hosted two public consultation meetings in recent months, facilitating constructive engagement with all the stakeholders.
“The option of constructing a greenway next to the regional road [R335] was considered as part of the selection process. The challenges of constructing a high-quality segregated greenway along a regional road, with the Clew Bay SAC [special area of conservation] abutting the road immediately to the north, will see a profound impact on the many dwelling houses and properties located along this section of road. It was also considered that the emerging preferred route presented a safer option removed from traffic, a more pleasant experience due to its elevated nature and would be less vulnerable to coastal erosion concerns,” said the spokesman.
He confirmed a consultation portal is available at consult.mayo.ie
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