Loved by cyclists, loathed by landowners, why are greenways so divisive?

Greenways are providing a tourist boost for local communities, and hugely popular with domestic visitors, but could numerous spats with landowners risk plans to invest a further €1bn on their rollout? Ellie O'Byrne reports

The stunning viaduct on the Waterford Greenway in Kilmacthomas. Picture: Dan Linehan

It’s a crisp, sunny autumn afternoon at the Coach House café just outside Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford.

Once a grim famine workhouse, today the imposing stone buildings are a popular lunch spot on the Waterford Greenway, ideally positioned for hungry cyclists and walkers roughly halfway down the 46km linear route between Waterford City and Dungarvan.