Traders hope stalled Cork flood relief scheme could be catalyst for 25km greenway 

The Blackpool Traders Group has drafted plans for a greenway from Blackpool to Blarney, then along the Shournagh valley to the Lee Fields, which uses controversial culverting proposed in  scheme as the "greenway gateway". Picture: Dan Linehan

A stalled flood relief scheme could be the catalyst for an ambitious 25km looped greenway featuring world-renowned Blarney Castle, traders in a flood-prone part of Cork City believe.

The Blackpool Traders Group has drafted plans for a vast orbital greenway from Blackpool to Blarney, then along the Shournagh valley to the Lee Fields, which uses controversial culverting proposed in the Blackpool flood relief scheme as the "greenway gateway".

Environmentalists have strongly criticised the Office of Public Works (OPW’s) Blackpool flood relief plan, especially the proposal to culvert a 350 metre section of the river Bride, north of Blackpool village, branding the culverting idea as "brutal and outdated".

The scheme has been stalled following a successful legal challenge in relation to inadequate public consultation on environmental reports.

The traders said they have been working for some time to find a solution to both problems — the flooding and the lack of green infrastructure.

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Traders' spokesman, Jer Buckley, said they believe their greenway proposal, modelled on the hugely popular Dodder greenway in Dublin, could be a win-win for everyone.

“This area is going through massive regeneration at the moment with a 50% increase in population expected in the next three years,” Mr Buckley said.

So, we have spent several months talking about a plan that can deliver green space and amenities, and fix the flooding problem, at the same time. We believe our plan does both — it uses the proposed culverting as the start of our greenway proposal.

The greenway proposal was prepared against the backdrop of the BusConnects plans for Blackpool, and was presented to National Transport Authority (NTA) officials, who said it had merit and required further examination.

It is ambitious but achievable in the context of BusConnects Cork, Mr Buckley said, with land along much of the route already in public ownership.

Their plan proposes an 8.2km first stage from Glen River Park, via an active travel bridge over the N20 at Assumption Road, into the heart of Blackpool, before running north, through Orchard Court, and over the proposed culverted section of the Bride, which is earmarked for rewilding.

The route would then cross the N20 into the old Sunbeam complex, before crossing back over at Killeens Bridge to run north again towards the Clogheenmilcon nature area, and on to the site of the old Muskerry railway station at Blarney Castle.

Longer term, the group suggests continuing the route west from Blarney, through Gleann na Rí estate and cross-country to Kerrypike, then south to Healy’s Bridge and along the Shournagh Valley to Carrigrohane, where it will tie in cycling infrastructure on the Lee Fields, an area already linked to the city by bike lanes.

Mr Buckley said: “Blackpool is on the way up big-time, but we need the flooding problem sorted and we need to get green infrastructure. People need amenities and connectivity. We have the amenities, we just them connected.” 

The traders are briefing local politicians on their proposal and hope to secure a meeting with City Hall engineers.

They were boosted by the news last week that a greenway proposal from locals in Togher, running from the Chetwynd reservoir to the Kinsale Road roundabout along part of the old Bandon railway line, was taken on board by City Hall, and is now poised to go for planning. Mr Buckley added:

We have 23 traders with over 1,000 years of service to Blackpool backing this plan. This is a huge opportunity to sort out the village once and for all.

They plan to unveil the details at a public meeting in Glen Rovers Hall at 7pm on Friday, April 14.