North Cork plan includes Mallow-Fermoy greenway

A new greenway and a woodland recreational area are among a range of ambitious new amenity, cultural, and tourism projects being pursued by a dynamic new lobby group launched in north Cork.

Mallow Development Partnership, Mallow Chamber, Avondhu Blackwater, and the local enterprise office announced last night that they have joined forces in order to promote Mallow more aggressively. The group said it will work with public representatives to secure key EU funding for the town and to deliver on their vision for the area.

They have already presented proposals to the Mallow Kanturk Municipal District and Cork County Council for projects to be built around the town’s historic hub — Spa House, the Clock House, Town Hall, and Mallow Castle.

The group is also working on a proposal for a new ‘greenway’ from Mallow to Fermoy, the first phase of which will link Mallow and Killavullen — and the development of a major new recreational area in woodlands to the south of the town on Mallow Castle lands.

It is hoped that a full-time co-ordinator, funded by local businesses and Cork County Council, will be appointed to ensure the delivery of projects prioritised by the group.

John McDonnell, Mallow Development Partnership chairman, said the gradual economic pickup, the expansion of Dairygold, and recent improvements to public areas are all hopeful signs that Mallow is creating a momentum that can be built on.

Chamber president Kevin O’Keeffe said that the strengthened Mallow Development Partnership would be a major new resource for the town.

Meanwhile, Cork City Council, Cork Education and Training Board, University College Cork, and Cork Institute of Technology have signed a landmark memorandum of understanding on learning.

The city hopes the initiative will help it secure a designation as a Unesco Learning City, enhance the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival, encourage ongoing lifelong learning, and develop a culture of learning withinCor City.

Ted Owens, chief executive of Cork ETB, described the agreement as “the dawn of a new era for learning”.