GREENWAY OPPORTUNITY
JESSICA FARRY REPORTS ON THE PROGRESSION MADE BY SLIGO GREENWAY CO-OP FOLLOWING THEIR THIRD AGM.
It was a movement that began on January 1st, 2015. Three years down the line, momentum continues to grow.
The idea of a greenway along the disused railway from Bellaghy to Collooney may have seemed like a far flung dream back then, but that dream edges closer ever year.
The Sligo Greenway Co-op held their third AGM last week. It was a ‘positive’ meeting, acccording to Chairperson, Pat McCarrick.
The most visible difference at this year’s AGM was the increase in members of the local business community in attendance.
This is not just about local communities willing the greenway to happen. The business community, too, can see the benefits that such an amenity would have for the South Sligo community.
There is a dose of reality here too, though. Group members are more than aware that this is a long road ahead. But, when they look back, they can see how far they have come since it all began.
“Since our last AGM we have made significant progress with the preliminaries to the greenway being created. However, we still have some way to go. For the greenway to happen Sligo County Council will require to enter into a license agreement with Irish Rail, the land owner. This will of course provide that the route will revert to Irish Rail if and when it is required to reinstate a rail service. It will also, like all the greenways in Ireland, require funding from the Government,” said McCarrick.
The case for Sligo Greenway remains very compelling, according to the co-op.
* Irish Rail are well disposed to granting such a licence.
* The Co-op and Sligo Co Co have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding defining how both parties will advance this project as a candidate for funding under the new National Greenway Strategy due to be published shortly.
* Sligo’s new County Development Plan provides for the development of the greenway and indeed the greenway is now one of four key development projects being pursued by the Council.
* An Economic Study, commissioned under Tubbercurry’s REDZ Programme, concluded in favour of the rail service if the hundreds of millions required were available. Given that it is not provided for in the Public Capital Programme onto 2040, the study examined the greenway options and concluded that a greenway on the railway line could be expected to deliver a payback in terms of local economic impact of less than two years.
* The soon-to-be-published National Strategy on Greenways encourages the creation of a greenway network for Ireland. The strategy will set out rules, guidelines and specifications but most importantly, it will provide funds for such developments.
McCarrick added: “Though the value of the greenway as a local amenity is outstanding, its case for funding will depend mainly on its capacity to generate tourism revenue. With South & West Sligo Tourism and the original Economic Study consultants, we now hope to commission a Tourism Impact Statement to test the assumptions of the Economic Study to ensure that the services are capable of responding to the growth in demand arising from the creation of a greenway. This study will be done over the summer.”
With the support of Sligo Leader, the Co-op commissioned a Technical Feasibility Study in late 2017. The study concluded that the project was indeed feasible and prepared a set of costings based on the ‘on or alongside’ options. The alongside option would cost five times the cost of the greenway being on the existing line.
The campaign is lifting all the time. With 800 members currently signed up, the co-op encourage people to continue to join.
Members of the business community are keen for this to happen. They want to see tourism increase in South Sligo.
Mick O’Hara, of the Yeats County Inn, is one of the many business people who are fighting for this to happen. He joins the likes of Cecil Whiteside, Romauld Mullarkey, Jerry O’Grady, Tubbercurry Chamber and many more on this list.
“It’s guaranteed to create employment in the area,” Mick told The Sligo Champion. “There’s not much industry in the area so the greenway would be brilliant for that. It would utilise an asset that is already there and is not looking like it will be used.
“The N17 is not safe for cyclists or walkers so the greenway would be great for those people. It would open up parts of the country that people might not otherwise see.”
The aim for 2018 is for planning and funding applications to be underway by the year’s end. Only by working closely with Sligo County Council can this project come to fruition.
McCarrick continued: “Our priority for the next stage is to continue to work closely with Sligo Co Co. Here, we aim to proceed in parallel, a planning process and funding applications with a view to ensuring that this game changing project for South Sligo come into being as soon as possible. This will require the full support of Sligo Co Co. Without this, the project cannot move forward to win the financial backing of the Dept of Transport Tourism and Sport’s Greenway Fund.
“The goal of your Co-op is to have both a planning and funding applications underway later this year. This has been the basis of our work to date with Sligo Co C. officials and we look forward to their continuing support and advice. Only by working together can we advance on this critical path to delivering this unique and important project for the people of South Sligo and the wider region.”
Cllr Dara Mulvey, who has been in support of the Greenway stretching from Collooney to Claremorris from the start, said:
“I was the first councillor in 2014 to call for a feasible study on the dormant line compliments the Sligo Greenway Co-op working group on the progress thus far.
“This 46 mile stretch of disused rail line which is in state ownership if converted into a Greenway can be a unique opportunity to bring all year round tourism to our region and which can be developed at an affordable cost would bring real benefits to the small towns and communities along the route.
“Phase one of this proposed Greenway could stretch from Collooney- Coolaney- Carrowmore-Tubbercurry- Curry-Belaghy and would open up many small business opportunities such as bike hire, cafes, shops,B+Bs etc and provide a safe walking/cycling/hiking route for all ages especially in conjunction with the National Mountain Bike centre soon to begin construction in Coolaney.
“I hope we can get progress on this especially in light of the massive success of recently developed Greenways in other regions of the country and when funding is been allocated for this new Tourism product.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the late Cllr Joe Cawley and Fr Micheal Mac Greil whose vision ensured that this critical piece of infrastructure remained in state ownership and which is fenced off. It now can become when developed a major asset for south Sligo.”
For more on the greenway, check out the website on www.sligogreenway.com.