€100,000 FOR WALKWAY
Courtown Community Council (CCC) is excited to have received notification of a successful Town & Village Renewal Scheme Application, meaning a €100,000 injection of funds into the community this year.
Money been granted under the scheme for enhancements to the existing footpath linking Riverchapel and Courtown with the addition of outdoor seating and picnic areas.
Linda Sinnott of CCC said: ‘I think 2021 is going to be a pivotal year for Courtown to help Courtown reinvent itself and give it a new identity because it has been left behind. It’s exciting.’
A 2km maritime walking trail linking Riverchapel with Courtown with picnic areas will be developed this year she said. Blue timbre seating will be erected at rest areas, including near a Local Link bus stop.
The walkway will be from Riverchapel along Church Road into Courtown, where the council owns a green space near Jimmy’s Bar.
Ms Sinnott said: ‘It’s for additional improvements to make the walk much more user friendly for elderly and vulnerable people. It will make it a more pleasurable walk to the harbour. The bulk of the population live in Riverchapel now so the walk will culminate in an enhanced area at the seafront. This year they have the money to do an enhancement project starting in spring from previous Town & Village Renewal monies.
There wasn’t enough [money] to complete the entire job then so this funding will help finish it off.’
CCC have been working with the council in securing funding to do enhancement works along the seafront to the ship and to the seated area.
‘We have been working with Rory O’Mahony from Wexford Walking Trails on a coastal walk to Kiltennel Beach which is about 2kms long., The walk from Riverchapel to Courtown is just over 2kms as well. It’s along the existing road and not the cliff walk as some people thought. That improvement was desperately needed.’
Ms Sinnott said an ambitious plan by a local businesses to build a hotel in Courtown is another exciting prospect in the pipeline for Courtown.
‘Covid-19 has resulted in a rise in people exploring their locality on-foot, and we are pleased to know that additional infrastructure will be put in place to support people of all ages and abilities, to enjoy leisure in this area. Riverchapel has seen a boom in population in recent years and we recognise the importance of interconnectivity between all our outdoor amenities in the area.’
CCC collected supporting letters from thirteen
local organisations that represent a vast array of interests in their area for the application.
‘We are very grateful to Wexford County Council for their ongoing support of our efforts in the area. The enhancement to the walkway between Riverchapel and Courtown will allow more people tourist the magnificent coastal area and explore the rich proposed Natural Heritage Area (pNHA) around Courtown Woods.’
‘Recent work re-opening the historic Courtown to Kiltennel section of the Sli Charman rehabilitation walkway has been highly successful, with members of the public enjoying the additional accessibility to walking trials. The woodland trail travels through several kilometres of mixed woodland bordered by the Ounavarra River and Courtown/Kiltennel Beach. It is great to know that people will now be able to walk all the way from the centre of Riverchapel, through Courtown Harbour and the pNHA and pass through the woods or beach all the way down to Kiltennel Point.’
Courtown has been a buzz of activity over recent months, with the derelict Bayview Hotel being demolished opening up the town to new growth opportunities.’
CCC thanked Wexford County Council for its support with this project and the Department of Rural and Community Development for their investment of €15.4 million in funding for projects across Ireland in this years Town and Village Renewal Scheme.