Council to develop Blueway along the River Blackwater INITIATIVE COULD RESULT IN A HUGE FINANCIAL SPIN OFF FOR NORTH CORK

CORK County Council has begun the process of developing a dedicated ‘Blueway’ along the River Blackwater in order to exploit its tourism and revenue generating potential.

Under the initiative the council intend to develop a recreational trail along the river from Duhallow to Fermoy and beyond, similar to the existing one the River Ilen from Skibbereen to Baltimore.

The issue was raised at a meeting of the council’s northern area committee following a motion by Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind), during which he said that apart from a few examples, the River Blackwater was “severely underutilised.”

“While we have a centre of angling excellence in Kanturk and other groups in Mallow and Fermoy utilising the Blackwater, a joint approach by stakeholders through the creation of a dedicated Blueway could bring wider economic, social and tourism benefits to the North Cork region,” said Cllr O’Shea.

He pointed out that a similar initiative by Tipperary County Council along the River Suir had proved to be hugely successful in attracting water based events such as the national canoeing championships to Clonmel.

“This is something that we could flesh out for North Cork by bringing stakeholders along the Blackwater for a brainstorming session on exploring how the river can used to their advantage,” he said.

Other councillors lent their support to the motion, including Frank O’Flynn (FF), who said he was a great believer in “playing to our strengths.”

“We have this tremendous facility at our disposal and we are barely using it,” he said.

Cllr Deirdre O’Brien (FF) pointed to “the phenomenal success” of the wheelie boat during the summer months in Fermoy as an example of how the river could, and should, be utilised.

Cllr Melissa Mullane said water borne activities could create a major spin-off though, for example, the creation of dedicated camping facilities in Mallow and other towns and villages along the river.

Senior executive officer Mary Hayes said it was an issue the council were exploring and that the authority had applied for funding to develop a Blackwater Blueway under the Rural Economic Developments Zones (REDZ) initiative.

She said that should the application be successful the council would work with stakeholders to put together a feasibility study for creation of the Blueway.

“We will then seek planning to enable delivery of the scheme, ensuring it will be shovel ready for all future funding opportunities that may arise,” she said.

Divisional manager James Fogarty said the development of a Blueway would be made easier by the fact that it would need less infrastructure, minimising the need for potential expensive land purchases.

“The River Blackwater is one of our greatest strengths and we must address the fact that we have not played to that,” said Mr Fogarty.