West Mayo landowners call meeting to discuss Greenway route to Murrisk

LANDOWNERS who have expressed concern at the proposed route of the Greenway from Westport to Murrisk have called a public meeting after a consultation meeting ended abruptly last week.

A public consultation event organised by Mayo County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), who are developing the extension of the Greenway to Murrisk, ended abruptly on Thursday after disagreements between local landowners and officials on how the event should proceed.

A number of landowners living along the proposed preferred route are unhappy with this route as they feel it is going through a flood plain and it will divide farming land.

The public consultation event took place in Cronin’s Sheebeen Pub and Restaurant in Rosbeg, Westport, with drawings of the emerging preferred route put on display.

Staff from Mayo County Council’s National Roads Office were there to answer questions relating to the scheme but there was unease among landowners that there was no group discussion at the event and any questions asked were to be done on a one-to-one basis.

As a result a number of landowners walked out and the event ended after only an hour after it was scheduled to take place over a number of hours.

A number of landowners have now called a meeting of their own in Cronin’s Sheebeen Pub and Restaurant this Wednesday, February 28 at 6.30pm and have asked local councillors to attend.

Gerry Loftus of Rural Ireland Organisation said that it is ‘ridiculous’ that Mayo County Council and TII plan to go ahead with the route despite local concerns and he stated he will support the landowners if they campaign to oppose the route.

“There was no discussion with landowners on the best route to take and instead this preferred route seems to be pushed forward,” he told The Mayo News.

“This proposed Greenway route will be going through a valley which floods and is a pure swamp for long periods of the winter time. They have a perfect route already for a Greenway along the road from Belclare to Murrisk but they seem to want to squander €10 million on this new route when they could easily make the existing cycle path safe for pedestrians and cyclists.

“The Rural Ireland Organisation will support the landowners if they oppose this preferred route option and this meeting will be all about getting their views and how to proceed with any campaign,” he said.