Red light for greenway to cost €12m
Tourism potential in Galway East has been dealt a major blow with the announcement that the proposed greenway is to be scrapped for the time being.
The controversial proposal angered farmers in the area amid claims of a lack of proper consultation before the route from Ballinasloe was selected.
It was estimated by the National Roads Authority that the greenway would bring, on average, 10,000 cyclists to East Galway every month – with an estimated €12 million spend.
The greenway would have provided a financial bonanza for pubs and restaurants in the towns and villages along the proposed route. However, the vast majority of farmers, whose lands were earmarked for the route, were not happy.
Farm organisations said that they welcomed the concept of the greenway but had asked the National Roads Authority to select a different route that would not divide up individual holdings.
East Galway has traditionally been the ‘poor relation’ when it comes to tourists visiting the county as they normally converge on Galway city and Connemara.
Earlier this year plans were unveiled for an off-road cycle greenway between Dublin and Galway with towns and villages such as Ballinasloe Aughrim, Kilrickle, Loughrea, Craughwell, Kilcolgan, Clarinbridge and Oranmore being part of the route.
Farmers and local councillors expressed anger saying that the route was selected before the consultation process began and it has been a source of conflict since then.
Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe had said that he did not want to go down the road of issuing compulsory purchase orders and was looking for total agreement on the route – but he failed to achieve this by a considerable distance.
Since the announcement of the greenway senior officials of Galway County Council have tried to impress on local councillors in this part of the county the financial benefits that would accrue from the greenway.
The greenway would also have the potential to create several hundred jobs in the catering industry and would result in the establishment of several bike hire shops along the route.
Members of Galway County Council said that they had no problem with the concept of a greenway but they had to take farmers’ concerns into account. Fears were expressed that farms would be split in two and their agricultural activities interfered with.
Now Minister Donohoe has ‘pulled the plug’ on the project for the time being. He said that he wanted all involved to “reflect on the issues that have been raised locally”. He said that he received significant concerns about the proposed route and that consideration would be given to a new route that “works locally”.