Contentious Mayo greenway is delayed again

No final decision has been made on the preferred route for the controversial Belclare to Murrisk greenway, engineers from Mayo County Council told members of Westport-Belmullet Municipal District last week.

During a lengthy discussion on the project, which first went to public consultation in May 2022, local councillors John O’Malley, Brendan Mulroy and Chris Maxwell urged the council to bring the greenway alongside the R335 road from Westport to Louisburgh, rather than pursue the stated preferred option, which would cut through private land.

However, over the course of the discussion, it emerged that up to 200 private properties might be impacted by running the greenway along the R335, meaning that proposal could result in even more compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) than the cross-country option.

Phase three of the project - design and environmental evaluation on the preferred route - is ongoing and will not be completed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) until the middle of next year. It is one of eight phases with the fourth being the statutory planning process. 

Voicing opposition to the preferred cross-country option, Independent Cllr John O’Malley said Taoiseach Micheál Martin had recently told the Dáil that TII should "accommodate farmers who don’t want their land split” by greenway projects. 

“I ask you please to go out the road and get it done that way because I have a vision of what will happen if someone goes up through that land and its not going to be nice. There will be hostility in the area for years and you don’t know what will happen to people using it.”

Fianna Fáil Cllr Brendan Mulroy said the time delays around the project were only allowing things to fester, adding: “This situation is already controversial. Now you say phase three will go on to the end of 2026 and that’s just a forecast, so we are looking at another year and a half before it does or does not come before us again. That is another year and a half of speculation and innuendo. This is not helping the situation and is creating a lot of bad blood between people. The time-frame is disappointing and I was of the view we would at least have the route determined by now.” 

Independent Ireland Cllr Chris Maxwell said: “Farmers from Roonagh in have told me none of them want it on their land there and they will spend the next 20 years in court fighting ye. This has caused heartache and mental anguish, 18 months of torture put in by people in their seventies and eighties, people crying. 

"The fact is everyone here wants a greenway to join up to Roonagh and beyond, but we want it go to back along the main road. It’s done like that all over the country and is working perfect. The road itself is in a diabolical state so why can’t TII upgrade the R335 also and get the two projects done together?” 

Cathaoirleach Cllr Peter Flynn said he was “stunned” to hear about the delays.

“It will be another year at least before we are back to planning. The longer this goes on the more it festers. I know you have processes to go through, but this just seems to be really drawn out.” 

However, the Cathaoirleach also cautioned members against causing the greenway project to collapse, stating: “This issue has already raised so many passionate debates over the last two years but it is clear we all want to see it developed to Roonagh and on to Achill. What we have to remember is we have an opportunity here to connect all of these greenways, from Clew Bay to Erris over to Sligo and back to Galway. We really can create something special and we need TII to be with us and to recognise this money is coming through and we would not have our facilities today without their funding.” 

Members were advised that council representatives had engaged extensively with landowners along the preferred cross-country route.

Senior Engineer Paul Hyland added: “It’s very hard to know how this is going, it is all very emotive. We have had constructive engagement with some landowners, others we just give the information to consider and others say they absolutely do not want to discuss this process with us. 

"What I can continue to stress is if a landowner wants to effect any potential change on his land - whether it is for the least impact on his boundary, front or rear, and we can locate the greenway accordingly - then we can mitigate and we are open to these conversations. But if you don’t discuss or at least allow the information be imparted to you, of course there will be fears.” 

Director of Services Joanne Grehan told members: “We cannot forget what a project like this can deliver to a region like this. Fáilte Ireland have committed in their new strategy to investing in the northern part of the west coast so that we can draw visitors north of the Dublin-Galway line. They have already invested over €20 million to this end in Westport Estate. When people come to the county they want a variety of things to see and do and by investing in tourism such as greenways, or in keeping the Croagh Patrick path in good repair through conservation works, that is how we magnetise visitors here and I ask members not to forget this please.” 

She concluded: “If this greenway is completed, it would attract up to 700,000 visitors and €16 million in the next ten years to the local economy. It would be remiss of me not to say this. It is very difficult and emotive but Mayo is a leader of delivery in greenways and we have a good relationship with TII.” 

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.