Progress on New Ross section of South East Greenway may come too late for businesses hoping for increase in tourism

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

While works on the main New Ross section of the South East Greenway are set to commence in September of this year, Wexford County Council (WCC) remains unsure as to when the entire project will be complete. The greenway, upon completion, will connect New Ross to Waterford with the route travelling through South Kilkenny beside the River Barrow.

The section which passes through the Mount Elliott Tunnel and the Red Bridge (listed as Lot 4 in the overall plan) will begin construction this Autumn, but some local councillors fear this will be too late for businesses relying on the increase in tourism the greenway will bring.

“There are businesses about to change hands or close due to the greenway not being complete,” said Councillor Michael Sheehan at the April meeting of the New Ross Municipal District. “While that’s disappointing it’s reassuring to see that Lot 4, which is the most important part, is progressing.”

Contending that, to the general public, Lot 4 and Lot 5 meant nothing, Cllr Bridín Murphy said most people just want to know when the greenway will be fully open.

“I can’t answer that, largely because the funding is coming via yearly allocations,” replied Sean Meyler of WCC’s special projects team. “We were given a certain amount for the works this year, so, no matter how advanced we were (with our plans), we only have so much money to spend.

"We haven’t been given any indication of our budget for 2027 yet. It is fully funded but the money is released on a yearly basis.”

The lack of a set timeline was a source of frustration for Cllr Murphy.

“My concern is that it won’t have the wow factor to attract tourism until it's finished, and we’re looking at a good few years before we reach that point,” she said.