Ballina-Dromineer greenway on hold

A PROPOSED scenic greenway route along the shores of Lough Derg from Ballina to Dromineer has been ruled out, local representatives were informed at a meeting of Tipperary County Council held in Nenagh on Monday last.

Council engineer John Nolan told councillors that tracts of land currently owned by the ESB along the water edge of the lake had been deemed too muddy to develop a track for a greenway linking the two villages.

Instead, what was now being looked at as the “emerging preferred option” was to develop the route through farmlands between Ballina and Dromineer.

Mr Nolan said planning the most suitable route for the proposed greenway was proving to be “quite complex”. Developing the route through farmlands away from the lakeshore was also proving to be difficult.

He said the design of a route may “have to go back to the drawing board”.

“The scheme is in limbo at the moment. Where is the scheme going? - I cannot tell you that,” said Mr Nolan, who said there might be an update ready on the project for the next full council meeting in September.

Mr Nolan made his comments after he was asked for an update on the proposed greenway by Fine Gael councillor Phyll Bugler, who also asked him about what plans were in train to deal with a series of flooding incidents that occurred in Ballina over the past few years due to climate change.

Cllr Bugler urged the council to look again at developing the greenway along the shores of the lake.

She said there were too many slopes on the other route being looked at. The route through farmlands would mean those using the greenway would be encountering lands that had hundreds of cows.

Cathaoirleach Cllr John Carroll supported Cllr Bugler, saying that developing a route through intensively farmed land would really take from the potential for the greenway.

Mr Nolan said developing a route along the shoreline was something “we have to get our heads around”. The current argument was that a pathway could not be built on the wet land along the water edge. In relation to the other route, some farmers had voiced their opposition to the greenway going through their lands, but not all farmers were opposed to the plan.

BALLINA FLOODING

Mr Nolan told Cllr Bugler that the council was engaging with the community in Ballina with a view to providing an improved drainage system in the village.

An awful lot of information had been received in the public consultation and the council was taking into account the submissions received. He said the planning stage for the new drainage system could possibly be in place by the year’s end.

Cllr Bugler said she wanted the drainage scheme in Ballina to proceed as soon as possible.

There have been eight separate flooding incidents in the village in recent years that were related to climate change. Large volumes of water pour from the nearby Arra Mountains into the village after heavy rain and the current piping system cannot cope with the volumes of water, Cllr Bugler told those attending the meeting.