ONLY a fraction of landowners were notified about the recent public consultation that took place for the Cork to Kinsale Greenway, according to councillors at a meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District.
They had been discussing exploring routes for the West Cork Greenway when the subject of lack of consultation on the Cork to Kinsale greenway arose.
The project, which is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) proposes to provide a greenway between Cork city and Kinsale and public consultations took place in both the Viaduct on Old Bandon Road and Actons Hotel in Kinsale last month.
Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said he hoped the public consultation for the West Cork Greenway will go a bit better than the Cork to Kinsale Greenway.
‘Only a fraction of the landowners who would be affected were notified about the public consultation. It was a very poor start to the whole scheme,’ he said.
‘We had expected them to do it comprehensively and it has led to conspiracy theories about the whole project.’
Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) agreed with him and said they were assured that every household would be contacted about the public consultations and it has now created ‘bad feeling already.’
‘Some of those affected have been on their land for generations and it’s a serious issue as some landowners are reluctant for greenways to go through their lands. This has put us on the backfoot already,’ said Cllr Coughlan, who added that it should have been more comprehensive.
She pointed out that even if the landowners did not receive a letter the public consultations were open for them to attend.
Meanwhile, municipal district officer Brian Dunne said as part of the West Cork Greenway, they will be exploring routes in and around the Bandon area, with plans for a public consultation process in early 2025.
