Farmers meet as Greenway worries grow

SERIOUS concerns over the new Greenway route from Athlone to Oranmore will be addressed at a public meeting organised by the IFA in Loughrea next Monday night (Dec. 1).

Local TDs, senators and councillors have been invited to the meeting in the Lough Rea Hotel, (8pm) as farmer concern grows over the possibility of their lands being ‘CPOD’ (compulsory purchase) by the authorities.

Initially farmers had hoped that the proposed greenway walk and cycleway would run side by side with one of the main Galway to Dublin road arteries, but this is now not the case.

Farmers now fear that CPOs will be used to forcibly take their lands for the project leading to split holdings as well as concerns over insurance  and safety issues.

Co. Galway IFA Chairman, Pat Murphy, told the Farming Tribune that farmers along the proposed routeway were now ‘extremely concerned’ over what was on the cards.

“There are farmers along this route who would have their lands split with this new route and they fear that the CPO process will be used for something that is not critical infrastructure.

“We feel that all other options for the Greenway route should be fully explored before any moves are made to go through farms.

“For example we feel that the use of the lay-by part of the old N6 roadway – now a far quieter road since the motorway was introduced – could be a viable alternative,” said Pat Murphy.

He said that so far, farmers were not satisfied with the data provided to them at public information meetings held in different parts of the county over recent weeks.

The western section of the Greenway project – aimed at constructing a coast to coast walkway/cycleway from Dublin to Galway – comes under the remit of the Westmeath, Roscommon and Galway County Councils as well as Galway City Council, in conjunction with the Dept of Transport and Tourism.

A preferred corridor has been identified for the western section of the Greenway that will run from Athlone to Eyre Square via Ballinasloe, Aughrim, Kilreekil, Loughrea, Craughwell, Clarinbridge and Oranmore.

To date 30 kilometres of the Greenway has been developed from the Meath border to Mullingar along the Royal Canal and work is currently well in progress on developing a further 40 kilometres along a disused railway line from Mullingar to Athlone, which should be completed by next July.

The next stage of the route is proposed to be constructed through lands owned by Bord na Mona as well as farmers and other private landowners.