Rosslare greenway will keep tourists in Wexford ‘rather than letting them off down to Kerry’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

While Co Wexford has one of the busiest ports in the country at Rosslare Harbour, it is not uncommon for those using it to travel straight through the Model County onto destinations unknown. However, a new greenway connecting Rosslare Harbour and Rosslare Strand will provide those arriving into the country with at least one additional reason to stay in Wexford.

Expected to begin construction in late 2027, the €12m project will commence at the Rosslare Strand train station and extend in a southeasterly direction before terminating at the junction of Mary’s Terrace and the N25 in Rosslare Harbour. However, before it can do that, members of the public have been invited to have their say on the preferred route and the plans laid out by Wexford County Council (WCC).

Running until April 1, this period of public consultation opened at the Rosslare Strand Community Centre where residents and members of the design team shared their thoughts on the greenway and how it will impact and benefit the area.

Cathaoirleach of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD), Councillor Ger Carthy was among those fielding queries from the local community and he was in doubt as to the positive impact the greenway will have in his constituency.

“I’m very happy with the current layout as proposed by WCC, we’re looking at a potential inward investment of somewhere north of €12m which is to be welcomed,” he said. “This is a tourism product that Co Wexford can benefit from. It’s about harnessing what the county has to offer, holding onto the people coming into Wexford through Rosslare Harbour rather than letting them off down to Kerry.”

Citing the success of the greenway in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, Cllr Carthy was of the belief that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) would “look favourably” upon the project when a planning application was submitted and said the onus would then be on Failté Ireland, Visit Wexford, and WCC to ensure it was marketed correctly.

Cllr Frank Staples was similarly enthused by the project and said it would provide a huge economic boost for existing, and potentially new, businesses.

“It will be a great benefit to the area, if you see any of the greenways now there’s a lot of businesses popping up around them,” he said. “So this will provide a huge boost for tourism, and for those living locally.”

Accepting that some members of the community were not in favour of the greenway, Cllr Staples said it was always “very difficult to get agreement from everyone” but that the hope was that WCC could facilitate those with genuine concerns about the route.

Given the rate at which the Wexford coastline is disappearing due to erosion, Cllr Lisa McDonald felt that strengthening works should be included in the greenway project when it commences.

“I do have concerns with regards to erosion along the route and I would like to see the embankment strengthened,” she said. “We have got into the habit of waiting until the last moment and just throwing in some rock armour, but there are other measures we can take to try and strengthen the soil naturally to preserve the coastline.”

Head of special projects with WCC, Sean Meyler, said that concerns regarding erosion had been taken into consideration when designing the greenway and that the route would be protected from any further storms.

“The route runs on the coastal side of the railway line, and that was made possible by the substantial coastal protection works Irish Rail has effected in recent years,” he said. “The greenway turns away from the coast at the end of the Irish Rail coastal protection works so erosion isn’t a concern for us here at all.”

Stressing that “open channels of engagement” were in place for any landowners who have concerns about the greenway, Mr Meyler said the project was subject to funding and TII approval but that he was hopeful of beginning construction in late 2027.