WHILE councillors have welcomed the re-opening of part of the river walkway along the Bandon River, they are still continuing to call for a re-greening of the river bank, which is ‘just not looking the business.’
At a recent meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District, Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) asked officials if the Office of Public Works (OPW) had got back to them on plans to re-green the river bank. Both herself and Cllr Alan Coleman previously called for something to be done along this area.
‘There are weeds now growing on the bank and we would love a natural re-greening process which would be aided by the OPW. Also those living in the nearby Riverbank apartments have contacted me suggesting that some trees could be planted on the riverbank, which would strengthen the bank while also give them screening from the opposite bank,’ said Cllr Coughlan.
Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) supported Cllr Coughlan’s call and said it’s a very high profile area in Bandon and that it’s just ‘not looking the business’ at the moment
‘It need a bit of investment and it just won’t happen naturally and it’s too important a location to just let it be. Maybe we could get an architecture landscaper to have a look at it as it’s extremely high profile and it’s not a long stretch of the river and it’s really between the two bridges,’ said Cllr Coleman.
‘We’re talking about putting the town back together again and this is as important as a piece of public space that there is in the town.’
Cllr Sean O’Donovan (FF) also lent his support to the call and said he had previously raised the issue at Western Committee meeting.
Senior executive engineer Richard Cahill said the OPW are not entirely happy either with what is happening on the riverbank between the two bridges.
‘They are looking at what options are available to them but trees could be limited due to flood fears and it is being looked at,’ said Mr Cahill.
He added that walkway, which had been closed on the northern side of the river from the footbridge to the Allin Institute is once again open after a new safety fence was installed along the edge of the walk where a significant drop existed into the river.
‘Our team did some strimming and cleaing along the walk and the temporary permanent fence will have to be reviewed by the OPW to see if it can become a permanent fixture,’ said Mr Cahill.
