Dillon hopes 'commonsense will prevail' in Greenway standoffs
Minister Alan Dillon and the CEO of Fáilte Ireland both emphasised the importance of greenways as a tourism product in Mayo
Mayo TD and Minister of State, Alan Dillon says he hopes 'commonsense will prevail' and a greenway from Westport to Murrisk and onto Louisburgh can be delivered that 'meets everyone's expectations'.
The Minister of State at the Department for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment made the comments on the grounds of Westport House after turning the sod of the €65.5 million investment in tourism projects on the Westport Estate on Monday morning.
Last month, Owen Hughes, a director of the Westport Estate commented at the official opening of the new luxury hotel, The Grace, in Westport that the greenway from Westport to Murrisk and onto Louisburgh needs to be spectacular and off road.
The Murrisk Greenway project which is being developed by Mayo County Council in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland is facing opposition from local landowners who would prefer to see the final route go along the main road to Louisburgh instead of going through private land.
When asked about the development of a greenway from Westport towards Murrisk and onto Louisburgh, Minister Dillon said that he is hopeful that progress can be made on the project.
“Everyone understands the benefits greenways provide and we have seen that with the Westport to Achill and we want to continue that to Louisburgh notwithstanding the challenges with landowners and consent.
Progress
“As a minister for small businesses and having tourism back within the enterprise portfolio hopefully we can see progress. It is with the planning authority and I don't want to comment or preempt what the decision will be but hopefully commonsense will prevail and everyone can see the benefits of a route which meets everyone's expectations and that likes of Murrisk and Louisburgh can benefit from that investment in the years to come,” he said.
When asked if she was disappointed with recent opposition to greenway development by some private landowners, Caroline Bocquel, the CEO of Fáilte Ireland said that greenways provide a wonderful experience for visitors and would like to think that a compromise might be found to continue to develop new greenways.
“The greenways are a really important part of the overall visitor experience and our role in greenways is to work with all the stakeholders to ensure we have the best product we can have. In some cases we need to look at how we can make sure the greenways are a really good visitor experience but also welcomed by the communities.
“In different areas there are different issues which come into play and obviously there are a lot of different partners in developing those greenways. We think they are great and a really important part in showing all our visitors what a wonderful outdoor experience you can have in Ireland throughout all the assets we have and we will give what support we need to ensure they are as successful as they can be,” she said.
The final route of the Westport to Murrisk Greenway is expected to be announced later in the year and will be then forwarded to An Coimisiún Pleanála who will decide whether to approve it or not.