Greenway could be held up due to 1960’s land sale following railway closures
AN ambitious plan to develop a dedicated greenway between Mallow and Waterford could be held up indefinitely as a direct result of a decision taken almost five decades ago.
The idea to develop the facility along the route of a former railway line that was closed down in 1967 is one that has been bandied about for some time.
The issue was again raised at Cork County Council’s July northern area meeting in a motion placed by Cllr Deirdre O’Brien (FF) in which she asked officials what, if any, progress had been made on the greenway which it is proposed will run along the old Mallow to Dungarvan line.
The motion was discussed by councillors, many of whom urged the authority to push ahead with plans to develop the greenway, saying it would encourage visitors to the north Cork region, generating welcome tourism revenue.
They also expressed concerns that County Waterford had stolen a march on them following the opening of their greenway.
Mary Hayes, the council’s senior executive officer in charge of rural development, told councillors that the authority had undertaken a preliminary feasibility assessment of the overall route, which had identified one particular problem. Ms Hayes said this related to the selling off of parcels of land along the route to local farmers in the late 1960’s following the closure of the old railway.
She said this would present a challenge as the authority would need to get permission from a number of farmers to allow right of way through their land. This, she said, had not been a problem in County Waterford as the defunct railway corridor still remained in public ownership.
Ms Hayes said the council would be seeking further clarity on the matter and report back to the committee on any progress made.