Greenway on verge of something special with wild flower planting

A WILD-flower verge planted on the new Clonakilty Greenway is already blooming just weeks ahead of its official opening.

Works are still underway on the 2km pedestrian and cycle trail which will link the town with the Technology Park.

County Mayor Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan – who previously said this will be a welcome boost to the town’s tourism potential – said the Greenway, complete with the wild-flower verge, is already looking spectacular.

‘Hats off to Seamus Daly and all the Council staff who have put their heart and soul into this project,’ said Cllr O’Sullivan, who had proposed the idea initially.

It was only last month that Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) agreed to his proposal to set wild flowers along the N71 from Clonakilty to Technology Park.

Since then, the hardworking volunteers of Clonakilty Tidy Towns have been seen along the route planting wild flower seeds on the N71 and also along the Greenway trail.

At last week’s meeting of the local authority, Cllr O’Sullivan referred to the wild-flower verge while discussing a draft document of Cork County Council’s new Climate Adaptation Strategy.

‘Greenways and safe cycle ways are the way forward and while we are asking people to consider sustainable ways of travel we are not providing the proper infrastructure and public transport should be part of it,’ said Cllr O’Sullivan.

‘Bio-diversity is a key element in targeting carbon emissions and tree planting is one such way as is wildflower gardens. I’m glad to say that in Clonakilty the Council has  a very much open door policy and they worked with the local community in letting them plant wild flower seeds along the verges of the N71.’

The first 200m of the Greenway will run alongside the N71 until it eventually reaches the Council-owned land at Gullane and from there it will run alongside Gullane Lake as far as the Technology Park.

A Council spokesperson said that it is expected that the works on the Greenway will be completed in the coming weeks.

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