FAQs

The Burtonport to Letterkenny Greenway project will seek to provide both long and short-distance recreational users and commuters with safe, convenient opportunities to travel along the route. It is anticipated that the provision of a greenway in this location will provide enhanced access to the wider region, enticing users to explore its surrounding towns and villages and further develop the untapped tourism potential within the region.

The Department of Transport’s Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways describes a Greenway as an attractive trail mainly used for recreational purposes by pedestrians, cyclists and people with impaired mobility, and as such promotes physical activity for these users.

The popularity of recently opened Greenways throughout Ireland demonstrates the many benefits that they can promote, including the provision of safe, substantially segregated walking and cycling infrastructure that makes it easier to visit friends, travel to school or work and to connect villages and towns.

On a wider scale, Greenways are providing opportunities to experience Ireland’s beautiful countryside for both visitors and locals alike, contributing to Ireland’s health and wellbeing, enhancing local communities with opportunities for new and existing businesses, and offering sustainable alternatives for tourists and locals to access a hidden Ireland.

The project team are committed to fully consider any inputs from members of the public, such as submissions received through the public consultation process or through the identification of local issues. We would value any feedback which you think should be reviewed by the project team to help inform the development of the project. Please refer to Public Consultation of this Project Website for information on how you can have your say.

It is anticipated that the use of state-owned lands (where possible), in conjunction with the lands acquired by Voluntary Agreements, will deliver the majority of the lands required for the Greenway.

Where private land acquisition is necessary following the selection of the preferred route corridor, the project promoter will engage with individual landowners in an effort to agree upon a route that minimises the impact on their respective farm / property holdings and enter into Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreements where possible. The process of agreeing upon Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreements will be initiated in advance of an application for planning consent.

For further guidance and information, please refer to the Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways and associated Greenway Sustainability Payment documents which can be accessed here.

The next step of the process involves the development of all reasonable options, which will then be subjected to an Options Assessment which will identify and determine that there is at least one feasible option. The summary of the Options Assessment and recommended option(s) proposed for advancement to Phase 2 (Options Selection) will be prepared.

As the project moves into Phase 2, a second period of non-statutory public consultation will be held including further exhibitions, where the public will again be invited to make submissions or comment on the Proposed Options, before a Preferred Option is identified.