Westport to Murrisk Greenway committee to hold public meeting in Lecanvey

A GROUP opposed to the proposed route of a new Greenway from Westport to Murrisk have called landowners from Westport to Louisburgh to attend a public meeting in Lecanvey this Friday.

The local Belclare to Murrisk Committee who oppose the controversial preferred route option have called a meeting for Friday, April 19 in Lecanvey Community Centre at 8pm. They are inviting landowners from Belclare to Louisburgh who may be affected by future greenways to listen to a number of speakers who they have invited to address the meeting.

The speakers will include Gerard Quinn, Professor Emeritus in law at the University of Galway while there will also be speakers who will speak on the environmental concerns of greenways as well as members of farmers groups who did not sign up to the Greenway Code.

A spokesperson for the committee said they were inviting all landowners from Belclare to Louisburgh to attend and listen to how future greenway planning will affect them in the future.

The Murrisk Greenway project is being developed by Mayo County Council in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). The preferred route option will see the Greenway go off road from Aughavale Cemetery via the townlands of Cloonagh, Kiladangan and Deerpark towards Murrisk and will cut through land at the foot of Croagh Patrick.

A number of landowners along this proposed route have come out strongly opposed to it and say they will not give access to their lands and are prepared to go to the High Court to prevent access.

The committee say they are not against greenways and believe the best option for the community and tourists would be to develop a greenway along the R335 which is the main road from Westport to Murrisk.