THE great greenway debate has reared its ugly head as the proposed route for the latest stretch of the Cork to Kinsale link poses a serious threat to landowners.
Residents in Ballinhassig and beyond who are unfortunate enough to be living along the preferred path for the greenway face losing their homes – and they’ve been told they have no leave to appeal.
The Compulsory Purchase Order mechanism means their homes and their land, which may have been in the family for generations, is fair game for the powers that be who are not obliged to pay market rates for it either.
The use of CPOs to reclaim farm land for tourism greenways has in the past been described by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association as ‘provocative’.
Forcing farmers to divide up their land to create cycling paths has left them feeling more than a little aggrieved.
That same sentiment was evident in spades at a series of public meetings in Riverstick and beyond where residents who have been ‘put on notice’ regarding the greenway route told of their anger.
Some claimed that despite the Greenway Guide Process stipulation that phases one and two of planning and development are supposed to include meaningful public consultation, in this instance there was no communication prior to a letter landing on the doormat in early July.
Those whose homes are in the firing line feel they are being railroaded into selling.
In most cases this is about a lot more than bricks and mortar, it’s about a property that has been at the heart of the family for generations.
Handed down from father to son, from mother to daughter; a place that has represented safety, family, love, security.
How can they be expected to hand it over at the stroke of a pen just because Ireland wants to fulfil some EU brief?
And what of these greenways which are now criss-crossing the Irish countryside?
They were announced to great fanfare, with the promise they would take cyclists off the roads, which is a win-win for all, isn’t it?
Well not quite. The touring cyclists are still braving the narrow country roads, so they can stop off sporadically in every town and village and savour the full experience of rural Ireland.
The Waterford Greenway, a 46km linear route from the city to Dungarvan, was broadly welcomed when it first opened.
But numbers using it have dwindled significantly. Anecdotal reports point to just a handful of tourists pedalling the route.
Others report ‘racing cyclists’ making use of the wide lanes.
Greenways are all well and good in theory, but the reality is that we don’t have the weather in this country to allow for optimal use of them.
And CPOs are not the way forward when it comes to amenities which are by and large aimed at boosting tourism.
They should only be used for essential infrastructure, such as motorways.
A cycle path for tourists is not a good enough reason to turf somebody out of their family home or off the land they have nurtured for generations.
The State should use State-owned land for these projects.
No argument.
