Landowners to step up opposition to Murrisk greenway

LANDOWNERS who do not want the Westport to Murrisk greenway going through their land plan to step up their campaign with a protest this weekend.

A large number of landowners living along the preferred route held a public meeting last Wednesday evening, when they reiterated their strong opposition to the Greenway going through their land.

Those angry about the route are planning to hold a demonstration this Saturday, March 9, at the Octagon in Westport, starting at 2.30pm. Those gathered will hear from four speakers – local councillors Brendan Mulroy and John O’Malley, Independent candidate Chris Maxwell and Gerry Loftus of Rural Ireland Organisation – all of whom have vowed to support the landowners in their opposition.

Up to 50 people attended last Wednesday’s meeting, which took place in Cronin’s Sheebeen Pub & Restaurant in Rosbeg, Westport.

The meeting was chaired by local landowner Peter Shanley, who told those gathered that as far as he and the local landowners were concerned, the best option would be to upgrade the roadway from Westport to Murrisk and incorporate a greenway along it.

“We are all in favour of a greenway, make no mistake about that, but we want it down along the main road where it is already partially built. The main beneficiary will be the community because we will have a better road with a walkway/cycleway beside it,” he told the meeting.

‘Room to negotiate’

Mr Shanley was supported by Cllrs Brendan Mulroy and John O’Malley as well as local election candidate Chris Maxwell, who said that they could see no reason why the greenway could not be built alongside the road.

However, Westport-based councillor Peter Flynn told The Mayo News that he had been informed by the project team working on the greenway that the process is not as simple as erecting a barrier between a greenway and the road.

He said that to comply with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) guidelines, any greenway going along a public road must be six metres wide, which would make the Westport to Murrisk facility a ‘major project’ to complete.

“It is not as simple as putting up a barrier and everything will be fine,” Cllr Flynn said. “The TII are not going to pay for a greenway that is substandard, because if there is an accident they would be wide open for litigation.”

Cllr Flynn came in for criticism at the public meeting when he stated that the preferred route would be his preferred option.

However, he is advising landowners to sit down with the project team to point out their concerns.

“I would say to people to at least have a conversation with the team before ruling everything out. No matter what route you go someone will be impacted, and there is no simple solution – contrary to what was said at the meeting.

“There is no black-and-white solution, whether we like it or not, and that is why it is really important that the landowners sit down with the project team and see if there is a way of doing it by minimising the disruption on the landowners.

“The project team has an open-door policy for the landowners and it will continue to be open door for the next six or seven months. The details of the route have not been determined yet. It is a broad-brushstroke proposal on the table, and it is important to know there is room to negotiate and figure out how we do this without too much disruption,” he said.

‘A joke and insulting’

The project team is now seeking feedback from landowners along the emerging preferred route as part of the consultation process. The deadline date for feedback is March 22. After this, the team will meet with landowners on site to discuss the finer details of the route.

The consultation process to date has been heavily criticised by some landowners. Mr Shanley described the public-consultation event organised by Mayo County Council and the TII, which took place the previous week, as ‘insulting’.

“What we saw last week was not consultation; it was more like Duffy’s Circus. It was just a road show and a joke and insulting.

“This is not consultation, this is bulldozer bureaucracy and Stalinism, where they decide they will do something and say it is for your benefit. They are not doing it for us. It will not benefit this community, so let’s get that straight.

“They are not consulting, they come in with the jackboot and tell us they are going to take the land from us. That is not consultation,” he said.

‘Blatant bullying’

Gerry Loftus of Rural Ireland Organisation (RIO) released a statement in which he described the treatment of landowners by the TII and Mayo County Council as a disgrace, and he warned against going down the road of issuing compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to get the land and push the Greenway through.

“RIO will stand fully with the landowners here. There will not be a greenway constructed on this ridiculous route, they can CPO it if they wish but they [will] have to remove a lot of people on the day construction begins.

“We are calling on all landowners in the county that will be affected by this type of blatant bullying and disrespect to attend this protest [on Saturday] and support each other,” he said.

Local Independent election candidate, Chris Maxwell told the meeting that there was no commonsense in bringing the greenway through people’s land, insisting it should be brought along the coast side of the road.

Cllr Mulroy said it was clear that the landowners were against the preferred route and that they should have been consulted with in the beginning.

“The last thing we need is division, and I see people who are emotional. We need to be united going forward, and anything we can do to make that greenway happen we will do but it will be on your [landowners’] terms,” he said.

Cllr John O’Malley said he was 100 percent behind the landowners in opposing the greenway, as he understands the feelings farmers have for their land.

“I tell you we are not going to let this greenway go through and spoil the lovely village that is tranquil and quiet. It is not right that anyone should come in and infringe on anyone else’s land. If someone comes down and tries to come through our land, well I tell you something, you will never see a war in Ukraine like it, and that is for sure. It won’t happen,” he said.