Kerry County Council hoping for greenway planning permission

Despite local objections, Kerry County Council is hoping to get planning permission for a new greenway on the northern side of the county so that an application for funding can be made.

It plans to extend the Great Southern Trail from the Limerick border to Listowel.

Work has already been completed on the 39km stretch on a disused rail line from Rathkeale to the Kerry side of Abbeyfeale.

Tom Sheehy, senior executive engineer with Kerry County Council, said work was continuing at a steady pace on the creation of the north Kerry/west Limerick greenway.

Last year, a survey by the council into the Listowel to Abbeyfeale section showed over 80% support for the project, even though a number of incidents took place where protesters blocked the route in 2013.

Mr Sheehy said negotiations were continuing with CIE which had agreed to divest land to Kerry County Council for the greenway.

He said the council aimed to secure planning permission for it and make a proposal for funding.

The council has already decided to seek compulsory purchase orders to acquire land for a 32km greenway on a disused rail line from Glenbeigh to Renard, in south Kerry. Almost €4m has been allocated for the project.

The proposed extension to the Great Southern Trail, meanwhile, will involve a 3m-wide tarmacadam surface running for 10km from Rathoran, on the Kerry/Limerick border, to John B Keane Rd in Listowel and onwards to the town park and the town centre.

It is planned to eventually extend the greenway as far as Tralee and Fenit.

The Great Southern Greenway is included in the national trails network.

Kerry County Council said the proposal has the potential to become a “valuable recreational, economic and social resource for the area”.