Cork County Council and the Port of Cork authority have entered into an agreement to complete works to Bantry’s Beicin Walk.
The raised walkway along the foreshore had been crumbling in places but the Council has finalised a design that will see it fully restored.
Engineers told members of the Western Committee in Dunmanway recently that the work will be carried out in two phases.
The first phase will include rock armouring to support the raised walkway, after soil from the cliff had pushed it seaward. Phase two will see the surface of the walkway restored.
The councillors were also informed that the works at Keelbeg Pier in Union Hall have been substantially completed to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders. Engineers confirmed there was ‘quite a lot of discussions with local residents, fishing interests and councillors and a solution was reached that was acceptable to all.’
Photographs showing the new, revised layout of the pier were produced at the meeting, and the councillors welcomed the fact that there are lots of new features including an improved layout and security, which includes number plate recognition.
Councillors said they were happy too that there are now specific areas for pedestrians to walk, as well as clearly defined access to the existing car park that does not involve walking through the busy pier.
Meanwhile, the engineers reported that the Kinsale Fisherman’s Pontoon is being transformed into a flat pier to allow extra berthage, parking bays, and storage for fishermen’s nets. A new gangway will also connect the existing pier to the well-used pontoon.
Improvement works are being carried out at Aghabeg Pier in Beara, as well as Lough Hyne near Skibbereen.
The councillors were told that the Lough Hyne project was sensitively done and did not include too much concrete because it would take from the beauty of the landscape.
Another project that is underway is the main pier at Castletownshend. Work on refurbishing the existing slipway and the deck has begun. Here, the Council has focused on masonry work because it does not want to impinge on the beauty of the landscape by using too much concrete.
