The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is planning to meet with Louth County Council to outline farmer concerns over the proposed Carlingford to Dundalk Greenway.
The local authority is developing proposals for the greenway with the support of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
Following a first period of public consultation, the project has now entered the second phase, which involves the development and assessment of feasible route options which will ultimately determine the “Emerging Preferred Route Corridor”.
A second public consultation is currently underway with the closing date for submissions extended to September 6, 2024.
Greenway
Louth IFA county chair Kevin Sweeney said that greenways should be predominantly on State-owned public lands and avoid impacting on private farmland.
“The IFA is opposed to severance of farms or compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for amenity projects like greenways,” he said.
Sweeney pointed out that the study area for the Carlingford to Dundalk Greenway includes around 11,500ac of agricultural lands and 128 farmyards.
“Farmers are very fearful that the proposed project may see the council attempting to acquire a significant area of private farmland for the greenway.
“They are very concerned that the proposed Greenway may sever and divide some farms, which is not acceptable,” he said.
The Louth IFA chair said that there was real anger and frustration expressed at the two recent public meetings attended by hundreds of people in Cooley.
During the meetings farmers claimed that there was a lack of proper consultation and a failure to understand and appreciate the impact of a greenway on farms and farm families.
“Serious concerns were raised over many issues including privacy; security; litter; dogs; parking; animal disease and wildlife; costs; and environmental and other issues,” Sweeney said.
The IFA is now planning to arrange a meeting with Louth County Council to “clearly outline the strong views and concerns of farmers and landowners in respect of the project”.