Contracts signed for first phase of Mallow masterplan
WORK TO START ON NEW €225K PATHWAY IN TOWN PARK
CONTRACTS have been signed for the initial phase of an ambitious multi-million euro project aimed at integrating three iconic Mallow landmarks into a single amenity and tourism offering.
Cork County Council this week put pen to paper on a contract with Glenville-based Finucane & Sons Plant Hire & Civil Engineering Ltd for the placement and construction of a new pathway in Mallow Town Park.
The pathway is part of a phased plan for the development of a wider network connecting the Town Park to Mallow Castle and the Spa House Park that is currently developed by the authority.
It will cost just over €225,000 to build, with €200,000 of that coming through a grant from the Department of Rural & Community Developments ‘2018 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Fund’, with the balance being made up from the council’s own coffers.
The works will include extending the existing concrete pathway from the pedestrian bridge in the Town Park below the Castle Park to the rear entrance to Castlelands Housing Estate. It will also incorporate a three-metre wide concrete pathway to accommodate a planned 785-metre cycleway, the installation of a stone pillar entrance to the Park via Castlelands and an interpretative display board.
It is anticipated that works will get underway within the next fortnight and be completed in November.
In January of this year Cork County Council signed a contract with Cork-based planning and landscape specialists Brady Shipman Martin to take the lead in the overall project to link the three landmark locations. In June the members of the public were given the opportunity to give their feedback on the plan and discuss it with council officials when it went on display during an open day at the Hibernian Hotel.
At the time council senior council executive Mary Hayes said the project, which will be delivered in stages over the next few years, had been specifically designed to enhance Mallow’s overall potential as a major tourist and visitor destination for the wider North Cork region.
It will work in tandem with Cork County Council’s masterplan for Mallow Castle, which has already seen works undertaken to improve access to Castle and its gardens and parklands.
“The project will be designed and delivered in a phased manner and will include new paths, a playground, cycleways, walkways, a designated deer viewing platform, fishing shelters, a trail head and improved parking,” said Ms Hayes.
“These facilities will form key components of the overall development of the planned blueway along the River Blackwater. This is the latest step in advancing plans to develop an integrated park network, landmark amenity and tourist destination for Mallow,” she added.
Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan, said the plan allows for the phased and incremental development of the Park “as a regional destination as well as a fantastic local attraction”.
“The appointment of this contract to Finucane & Sons is one of the first steps in growing our vision for Mallow,” he added.