*Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG). Photograph: Natasha Barton.
WEST CLARE is “falling behind” on plans to deliver a greenway along the tracks of the iconic railway line.
Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) voiced his concern this week at the pace of works for what is expected to become a major tourist attraction in the county.
Initially in 2022, officials in Clare County Council set an opening date of 2025 for the West Clare Greenway but in June 2023 they said it was intended to submit an application to An Bord Pleanála by 2024 with the potential of starting construction by 2027. The planning submission for this due to be lodged this October.
In total, the West Clare Railway Greenway is set to span 85km and is split into the four sections. These include, Ennis to Ennistymon, Ennistymon to Miltown Malbay, Miltown Malbay to Moyasta and Kilrush to Kilkee.
A briefing was requested by Cllr Keating in a motion before the West Clare Municipal District to give elected members an update on the present position, funding, preferred route and the planning submission for the Kilkee to Kilrush section.
Senior executive engineer in the project management office of Clare County Council, Gráinne Reddan in a written reply outlined that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is the funding authority for National and Regional Greenways, while Clare County Council is responsible for delivering the projects in compliance with TII’s standards and guidelines. “Currently, Clare County Council is seeking approval from the Transport infrastructure Ireland (TII) to close out Phase 2 of the project (Options Selection) and proceed to Phase 3 (Design and Environmental Evaluation)”.
Work completed in phase two included three rounds of public consultation, engineering environmental design, addressing technical and environmental challenges, project appraisal which involves assessing the feasibility, costs and benefits and the completion of the ‘option selection report’ to develop the preferred route for the Greenway.
Reddan advised that the project will move into phase three once approved by the TII which will include participation in the ‘voluntary land acquisition process’ and preparation for the planning application stage.
She stated, “During phase three, Clare County Council will be permitted to formally issue an invitation to potentially affected landowners to participate in the ‘voluntary land acquisition process’. This new process introduced as part of the ‘Code of Best Practice for National & Regional Greenways’ in 2021 is a significant change in how land is acquired for greenway projects. The most notable aspect of this new process is that all key aspects, including design and compensation must be agreed upon before a planning application is submitted. This ensures that all stakeholders, particularly landowners are fully engaged with in advance, however it is important to note that the ‘voluntary land acquisition process’ will take a minimum of twelve months to complete, meaning it will extend into next year before process can be fully applied”.
Clare is at a crossroads with regards to the development of greenways, Cllr Keating felt. “I looked for a briefing, I got a reply but not the reply I was expecting, I understood from a motion I put in a year and a half ago that two preferred routes were identified, I was expecting that we would be working on planning”.
He continued, “I don’t know where we go from here, in Limerick they have three greenways completed since we spoke about this first. It is vital for our tourism to have a greenway from Kilkee to Kilrush, people are travelling all over West Clare”. The Cross native continued, “I still think we should have a briefing on it when we have an up-to-date position, we’re waiting for TII to close out phase two, that will cause a delay”.
Acting senior executive officer in the West Clare Municipal District, Colette Costelloe said she would speak with the engineer to arrange a briefing. “It would be nice to have a briefing on it by January, people are asking me and our other councillors what is the story with the greenway, there are major works going on in other parts of the country, we seem to be falling behind and we have an ideal location,” Keating replied.
Work of the project management office to date was praised by Cllr Ian Lynch (IND). “I understand Gabriel’s frustrations, Limerick retained land in their ownership whereas this is on private land,” he pointed out. “It’s been very clean this process which is very good for the landowners, it has been given the time needed to make sure it is done correctly, I think we are making very good progress”.
Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) said “voluntary land acquisition is the key to it” but acknowledged, “we are not as far down the road as other counties”. She added, “We’ll keep supporting the team but the briefing is a very good idea”.
