A BALLINHASSIG woman has spoken of her shock and disbelief that her family could be forced to give up part of their land because it is located within a proposed route for the Cork Kinsale Greenway.
Last week several landowners along the proposed preferred route for the Cork/Kinsale Greenway received letters indicating that their lands could be subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).
Speaking to The Southern Star, Noreen Ring she was ‘completely shocked’ when her elderly parents received a letter notifying them that their lands were located within the proposed EPRC for the Cork/Kinsale Greenway.
‘This was the first we had heard about this planned greenway. We received no warning about it. No one ever came to our door and we just weren’t aware of this planned development,’ said Noreen.
‘I’m not alone either as other landowners along the proposed route knew nothing about this. We feel that we are being bullied into something we never agreed to.’
When Noreen relayed her concerns about the Greenway plans to a project manager she was told that they can CPO their land with or without their consent.
‘I was totally shocked to hear that we could be forced to give up our land. I immediately started an online petition as well as highlighting it on local online notice boards.’
‘We have millions going into Greenways when we could be spending money on home help which I fight for my elderly parents every week.’
Noreen is adamant that they are not anti-greenway but pointed out this is their private property which has been in their family for generations.
‘This land is part of our future. It’s everything to us. We want to keep our privacy but this route would be literally be right above our house.’
Noreen described the whole process as upsetting and immoral. ‘It’s definitely undemocratic and unconstitutional. We didn’t ask for this and no one asked us if we even wanted this and it can’t be at the detriment of peoples’ lives.’
Independent Councillor Alan Coleman described the proposal as a ‘pipe dream’ pointing out that a study undertaken by a Council official and two undergraduates in 2012 concluded that this greenway would not be viable.
‘I’ve been inundated with phone calls all week from people angry about this proposal. What we need to do is identify existing walkways and fund them with the support of local communities,’ he said.
A peaceful protest was held by affected landowners outside Riverstick Community Centre on Tuesday evening where a third public consultation for the greenway took place.
The closing date for submissions from the third public consultation is August 15th 2025.
The Cork/Kinsale Greenway design office was contacted for comment.
