Improvements on the horizon for Knockananig Reservoir
With a recent allocation of €10,000 in funding towards a feasibility study for the development and improvement of Knockananig Reservoir, hopes are high that the hidden gem may become a staple amenity in Fermoy and surrounds.
The public amenity, previously known as 'The Waterworks', once supplied water to the town of Fermoy. However, now disused, Knockananig reservoir has become a beloved location among walkers, anglers and nature lovers alike.
A motion raised at a 2019 meeting of Fermoy Municipal District saw local councillor Noel McCarthy request a plan to be put in place to upgrade the amenity and promote it as a recreational area, and now with funding in place supplied by the Town Development Plan for a feasibility study under the 'Knockananig Masterplan', plans may soon get under way.
“It’s a great amenity for the people of Fermoy and surrounding areas and for people to come and visit from outside of town. What we need to do is improve it and make the amenities there better, including walkways, maybe a toilet and things like that,” Cllr McCarthy said.
He went on to state that key points of improvement to the amenity would include access, such as installing walkways or cycleways connecting the outskirts of Fermoy town to the amenity, as well as widening the entrance to the parking area outside the reservoir.
The improvement of access to the site was supported by local authority engineer Brendan O’Gorman during the 2019 Fermoy Municipal District meeting when he requested that it be put on record his wish to see connecting footpaths from Duntahane all the way up to Knockananig
During good weather, Knockananig reservoir sees an increase in visitors using the area for dog walking, fishing and picnicking. However, Cllr McCarthy notes that improvements made to the area could see a further increase in visitor numbers from Fermoy and beyond.
“People spend hours up here, wildlife, birds, everything like that, a lot of people have picnics up here in the summer in the good weather, we’d encourage all that, but that’s the work we need to do, like putting proper picnic areas. Obviously health and safety is number one but we can do a lot here, so I’m hoping that the study that will come back will highlight and outline what can be done here.
“It’s something that you would never think would be in Fermoy and hopefully this will encourage people to visit,” he added.
LONG TERM PROJECT
Despite high hopes for the area, Cllr McCarthy added that it may be some time before works will be completed following the feasibility study.
“We couldn’t achieve this over two or three years. It would be at least five to ten years improving it all the time and making it better to achieve that,” Cllr McCarthy said.
Currently, Knockananig is maintained by Avondhu Tourism and FÁS and has been since the early ’90s, credited by Cllr McCarthy for the hard work they put into developing and maintaining the reservoir.
In the early ’90s when John Mulvihill first became involved with the site through Avondhu Tourism, he stated that Knockananig reservoir was ‘a pure wilderness’ at the time.
Avondhu Tourism had leased the site at the time and with the help of a FÁS scheme, developments began on-site which saw the planting of hardwoods to shelter the lake, creating a walkway around the lake, the development of fishing stands and disabled access.
According to John this week, through this feasibility study, he hopes that the Knockananig Reservoir may be included in the East Munster Way which is a part of the European E8 route.
“It’s a beautiful amenity and we hope this will develop it further for recreational purposes, for walking, hiking and fishing and that it can be linked up with the East Munster Way and the Blackwater Way,” John said.