Controversial Cork-Kinsale Greenway plan subject of key briefing meeting ‘in next fortnight’

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

Councillors are to receive a report into the public consultation phase of the Cork-Kinsale greenway within the coming weeks. The controversial proposal has received over 2,000 public submissions.

Cork County Council Director of Services Padraig Barrett told this week’s meeting of the Bandon-Kinsale Municipal District (MD) that the report is currently being concluded. “I'm bringing that to my group within the next week and then I'll be briefing the [elected] members after that. After that then we will be engaging with the landowners.”

“To be fair to you I want to brief the members of Bandon-Kinsale MD and the Carrigaline MD before we go to the public with it. So that will be done in a private session in the next fortnight,” he said.

Cllr John Collins had asked for an update on the report, which was originally expected to be published in January. He said landowners concerned about the project “have been in limbo for a long period” and are keen to see the report. He also called on the council to “communicate more clearly with landowners.”

Landowners along the route are worried that Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) may be used to obtain land for the greenway and have criticised what they say is a lack of consultation. Earlier this month two local councillors brought a motion before the county council calling on the transport minister to reconsider the potential use of CPOs for greenways.

“CPOs were created to deliver essential infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools, flood defences, utilities, things that society cannot function without and where no reasonable alternative exists. They should not be used to deliver non-essential projects such as greenways. Greenways may be desirable, they may even be beneficial, but they are not essential,” Cllr John Michael Foley said.

“We do acknowledge that it's very, very rare that CPOs have been used but I think in areas where a proposed greenway route appears controversial, even the outside possibility that CPOs might be arrived at sets a dangerous precedent and a kind of unwelcome part of the dialogue,” Cllr Jack White said.

In December the local authority’s Chief Executive Moira Murrell told councillors that the proposal is still in the non-statutory phase of assessing the most appropriate route. “We're at the point of just looking to see where that route might be and what it might look like,” she said.

The greenway is being funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and will run for around 25 kilometres between Cork city and the West Cork town. Last summer Cork County Council held three events to showcase what is known as the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor and to seek feedback from the public. It was the third such public consultation on the project.