Campaigners have welcomed fresh public consultation on the Oldbridge-Navan section of the planned Boyne Greenway after a two-and-a-half-year delay.
Meath County Council said: “Over the last number of years Meath County Council have been developing a plan to deliver the Boyne Greenway and Navigation Restoration, which aims to provide a high-quality walking and cycling route and restore the Boyne Navigation including the canal sections and associated locks which is a key feature of industrial heritage within the Boyne Valley.”
The proposed section of the greenway will extend 26.5km from Andy Brennan Park in Navan Town to the main gates at the Oldbridge House where there is a route into Drogheda.
Visitor attractions along the route include Slane Castle, the Battle of Boyne site and the UNESCO World Heritage site at Brú na Bóinne.
Ed Moynihan, chairperson of Navan Cycling Initiative, said: “We are delighted to finally see this section of the Boyne Greenway progressing. It has been a long wait – over two and a half years – for the preferred route to be revealed and it is something we have been strongly advocating for over the last number of years.”
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“This part of the greenway, running from the Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge, on to the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, Slane, and Navan, has the potential to be one of the best greenway routes in Ireland. There is a massive demand to see this happen and we now hope to see this project prioritised and given the attention it deserves.”
An Taisce, an environmental group which owns lands along the route, said: “An Taisce is delighted to allow the Boyne Greenway to pass along the land we hold in trust for Ireland, to help people get outdoors and connect with nature.”
When asked about it on Twitter by a third party, the group said: “And we recognise and debated the trade-offs with such a project.”
Meath County Council attributed the delay to the changing of the approving authority of greenway from the Department of Transport to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), and a review following this. Part of this included a flood modelling exercise that was carried out and a Flood Modelling Interpretative Report was prepared in May 2023.
The non-statutory public consultation on the Emerging Preferred Route will run until January 29, 2024. Details can be found at consult.meath.ie.
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