Locals voice huge concerns over Dundalk-Carlingford Greenway plans

Members of the local community in the Cooley Peninsula have voiced huge concerns over Louth County Council's plans for a greenway from Dundalk Bay to Carlingford, and were critical of the level of communication from the local authority on the public consultation which took place at the Ballymascanlon Hotel on 19 June.

Cooley Community Alert hosted two meetings this week organised by local councillors in north Louth to discuss the proposed Dundalk Bay to Carlingford Greenway, with a meeting taking place on Monday at St Patrick's GFC Lordship, to discuss two sections of the greenway and a meeting on Tuesday at Cooley Kickhams GFC, to discuss the third section.

Louth County Council, with the support of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, is developing proposals for the Dundalk Bay to Carlingford Greenway project.

The local authority has begun its second non-statutory public consultation (Option Selection) for the project, and stakeholders, members of the public and other interested parties, are being invited to participate. The Option Selection Phase of the project has commenced and Route Corridor Options have been developed within the study area.

Louth County Council says that the aim of this public consultation is to receive feedback on the Route Corridor Options to assist the project team in the decision-making process when further refining the corridor options and selecting the emerging preferred route corridor. The submissions in relation to the material presented at this consultation should be made by the 6th September 2024.

The Route Corridor Options public consultation was held on 19 June 2024 at the Ballymascanlon Hotel, where Louth County Council staff and its Design Consultants were available to discuss any queries or concerns regarding the project. One of the major issues discussed at this week's meetings however, was the communication from the local authority on the public consultation, with a spokesperson for Cooley Community Alert telling the Dundalk Democrat that "so many people said they were totally unaware of the greenway and the previous meeting".

The Dundalk Democrat spoke to one local resident who said that they had no idea the consultation was taking place, and would have appreciated posters in the area or a mailout to residents to inform them of it. They added that they had also spoken to several neighbours on hearing that it had taken place, and none of their neighbours were aware of it either.

It is understood that some of the councillors at this week's meetings, bore the brunt of local residents anger at the local authority's communications regarding the public consultation meeting. Councillors informed those present that they would be raising their concerns with the local authority.

The Dundalk Democrat understands that there were some very angry exchanges at the meeting, with, it is understood, some being quite aggressive towards the local representatives.

According to the spokesperson for Cooley Community Alert, "there is frustration as people are confused about the routes and the impact. People along previous greenways mentioned issues with lack of bins and rubbish bags hung in their fence. Farmers are concerned about the impact to farm land, and private residents querying how when they can't build on their land how can a greenway be allowed."

The spokesperson added however, that there were people at the meetings who are people in favour of the greenway, and approached and spoke to organisers of the meetings at the end, but were reluctant to speak up during the meeting itself, as the initial speakers were against the greenway.

Louth County Council says that the public consultation that was held in the Ballymascanlon Hotel was advertised across both local and social media channels. In a statement to the Dundalk Democrat, it said: "An in person public consultation was held at the Ballymascanlon Hotel on Wednesday 19th June between 3pm and 8pm with staff from Louth County Council, the TII and the consultants in attendance to answer questions and explain the process.

"The public consultation was advertised on radio station LMFM, local newspapers including - the Dundalk Independent, the Argus, The Dundalk Democrat and the Drogheda Independent, on the Louth Consult Website and on social media.

"Nearly 200 people signed the attendance sheet on the day of the event with many more in attendance. Drawings and brochures were on display at the event, with this information also available on the dedicated website for the project www.dundalkcarlingfordgreenway.ie . There is also an Interactive Map on the website to allow members of the public to zoom in on specific areas.

"Submissions can be made to the team via e-mail, online or by post. The closing date for submission has been extended by five weeks to Friday 6th September 2024. The public are also able to contact the dedicated Project Liaison Officer directly should they wish to discuss the project further (details available on the dedicated website).

"This public feedback will be used to assist the design team in determining the Preferred Route Corridor which will be presented at the Third Public Consultation, envisaged to take place later this year."