Fears over timeline for full opening of greenway in Kilkenny
Despite substantial progress being made on many of the individual sections of the South-East Greenway, there are fears that it may be at least two years until it officially fully opens to the public.
It has emerged that the opening of one of the sections, in Ferrybank in the south of the county, is dependent on the construction of the Belmont Link Road.
An Bord Pleanála
The Link Road project was initially planned go forward under Part 8 planning, the local authority planning process, but now has to be approved under the Part 10 process, through An Bord Pleanála.
Piltown Municipal District Area Engineer Stan Cullen informed local councillors of the importance of the Belmont Link Road to the complete opening of the greenway.
“There’s only a ramp at the Abbey Road end so there’s nowhere to get out,” he said.
The completed Link Road will provide access to the Ferrybank trailhead car park, a vital piece of greenway infrastructure.
The Belmont Link Road forms one of four projects that Kilkenny County Council have submitted as part of Waterford City & County Council’s Urban Regional Development Fund (URDF) application for the North Quays.
The others are improvement works to the Abbey Road and Belmont Road, the N29 Port Road and additional connectivity infrastructure between the South-East Greenway and the Abbey Road.
Other Sections
Three sections of greenway that are pretty much complete are set to be opened in June.
The Ferrybank to Curraghmore section, with a combined length of 5.5km, has been advertised for tender.
Plans for greenway links to Slieverue and Glenmore are expected to go to Part 8 planning in July.
The feasibility study has been completed on possible future links between the greenway and Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge.