Where has €100k funding for Donegal Town footpath out to Craft Village gone?

Funding said to be worth €100,000 which was allocated for the completion of a walkway from Donegal Town out towards the local Craft Village came up for robust discussion,  at the September meeting of the Donegal Municipal District, when it was learned that there was uncertainty over where the money is now, after the plan did not come to fruition.   

The funding of €100,000 from the Department of Rural and Community development was to be in addition to the council’s own funding of €25,000.

But members were told that “following further consideration, it is now proposed that the footpath proposal at this time be deferred pending future development of adjacent lands”.

Significantly an updated report on the project indicated “that funding for this project has been de-committed”.  

Part of the plan had been the provision of a footpath, the provision of lining trail markings, an App as well as the Installation of interpretative panels and signage.

It emerged that one of the issues that had caused the impasse was that an agreement with the landowner/s had not been reached, according to officials.

The target was now for “ongoing engagement with the Department in relation to the overall project and how it can be progressed”.

But Cllr Michael Naughton (pictured) was unhappy that councillors were only learning about this for the first time, and had the funding potential totally disappeared or could it be used for a very worthwhile development in Laghey, that could with the funding:

After the meeting Cllr Naughton explained: 

“This walkway in Donegal Town is something that I looked for, ever since getting elected to the Council and that was the continuation of the footpath out to the Craft Village and out as far as Abbotts.

“Abbotts are a huge employer locally and this is where this scheme came about. So we come in here today and hear this. 

“This was never flagged and if that was the case and we knew those issues were there with landowners, then it should have been flagged sooner and we could have looked at moving this on. 

“We are looking for footpaths at Pettigo as well as the Old Golf Course road in Donegal town and many other locations in the MD. 

“€100,000 is a lot of money and I am very disappointed and would like to hear a full explanation about what happened, so that such a situation doesn’t happen again.” 

Donegal Town One-Way traffic system contractor appointed

Arrangements are currently being made to have a pre-start meeting with the Contractor to discuss a start date and programme duration

He appreciated that matters and issues do arise in such plans, from time to time, but had he been made aware of the particular situation, somebody could have been approached to try and resolve the issue. 

“If the money was there, it could have been used for something else in the locality, in the meantime. I would be more concerned if we lost the money altogether to Donegal Town, especially with the emphasis on Active Travel schemes”.