Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk: Scoping document being prepared on work needed to reopen
The Wicklow PeopleWicklow County Council has appointed a subject matter expert to prepare a scope of works document setting out the works required to reopen the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk.
The expert will also carry out an assessment of alternative routes for the Cliff Walk on the Greystones side.
On completion of these tasks, a subject matter expert will then be appointed to bring the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk project through to completion.
The taskforce established by Tánaiste and Wicklow TD Simon Harris in late 2024 met on December 17 for the third time to discuss progress since their last meeting on November 25.
At the latest meeting council officials provided an update on the reforming of the Cliff Walk Management Committee and the appointment of the subject matter expert to bring the report into a deliverable plan.
Further to the proposal to reform the Cliff Walk Management Committee at their December monthly meeting, the elected members agreed “to increase the membership of the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk Management Committee by two members from umbrella bodies and one member from the business community for both Bray and Greystones and an increase in elected members”.
Accordingly, at the Bray Municipal District monthly meeting held on December 2, it was agreed by the district councillors that one further elected member from Bray MD would join the committee and a nominee would be sought from the Bray Chamber, Public Participation Network (PPN) – Environment pillar and the Bray Alliance/Bray Heads Resident Association.
Cllr Caroline Winstanley was proposed and subsequently appointed as the extra elected member from Bray to sit on the committee alongside Cllr Erika Doyle.
At the Greystones Municipal District meeting held on December 17 it was agreed by the elected members that two further elected members from Greystones MD would join the committee, while nominees would be sought from the East Wicklow Business Network, PPN – Environment pillar and the Friends of the Cliff Walk campaign group.
Cllr Louise Fenlon Gaskin and Cllr Tom Fortune were proposed and subsequently appointed as the extra elected members from Greystones to sit on the committee alongside Cllr Stephen Stokes and Cllr Mark Barry.
Following receipt of details of nominated persons from these bodies, a meeting of the Cliff Walk Management Committee will be convened in early January 2026.
There wasn’t universal approval for the proposal during the meeting with Cllr Fortune strongly advocating for two representatives from the Friends of the Cliff Walk group to sit on the committee.
“I believe appointing two reps from the group is right and fair and it would be a strategic move to help keep things moving forward. They have already done a lot, and they deserve to be heard at the table.
“The committee is being guided by the work of the taskforce and it will be important that we hear back from them again soon,” he added.
Echoing those sentiments Cllr Mark Barry said the group have been “instrumental in getting funding in place and putting pressure on the government to address the issue”.
In an effort to provide a solution district manager Helena Dennehy agreed to consider a proposal brought forward by Cllr Fenelon Gaskin to re examine the terms of reference of the committee that would allow two members of the group to have access to future meetings.
The proposal would need to be voted on by the elected members at a future full meeting of Wicklow County Council.
The Friends of the Cliff Walk group has said it welcomed the statement from Deputy Harris on the timeline for reopening. After almost five years of closure, the group said there was now hope that the walkway could reopen close to St Patrick’s Day next year.
“Under the Tánaiste’s plan, both Wicklow County Council and Irish Rail have accepted the recent report by RPS consultant engineers and, crucially, have agreed to implement it in the shortest possible time frame, with St Patrick’s Day 2026 the target date for reopening as much of the walk as possible by then,” said the group in a statement.
However, Cathaoirleach of the Bray Municipal District and Green Party councillor Erika Doyle, who chairs the local authority’s management committee, has said openly that such a deadline would be “extremely challenging for all concerned”.
“It has and remains my commitment to the people of Bray to work to reopen the Cliff Walk safely and in a timely fashion, however we must adhere to proper procedure, as with any process involving taxpayers’ money and public safety.” she said in a social media post earlier this month.
“As somebody living beside Bray Head who misses the Cliff Walk terribly, I understand the frustration that is out there, but I stand over the work done by the committee since I took the chair this year, to get it to this stage.”
Separately, following a freedom of information request by the Social Democrats Wicklow County Council highlighted they paid just under €79,000 to consultant group RPS in 2025 for architect and engineering fees in maintaining the amenity.