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A section of the Carlingford Lough Greenway from Victoria Lock to the border has got planning approval following a special Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Planning Committee meeting. The meeting took place yesterday, 26 October and followed a planning meeting last week where it was agreed that before a decision was made a project site visit would take place following a request by Adrian O'Hare representing the Narrow Water Bridge Community Network.
A site visit was conducted immediately following last weeks meeting and today Councillors voted to accept the planning officers recommendation which was to approve the application. A seperate application got approval earlier this year for 2 short stretches at either end of the section approved today and already some clearing work has taken place.
The project has been beset by delay. Work started in 2016 on the greenway stretch between the Albert Basin and Victoria Lock which eventually opened in May 2018 with the plan for the link to the border to be completed by 2020 but it wasn't to be. Originally the route planned to travel across the Newry to Omeath Road at Victoria Lock, take a path through the Fathom Forest before returning across the road again at the border but this was scuppered by the Department for Infrastructure on safety grounds.
This new approved section remains on the water side of the road and will see just over 1km of a 4m wide timber boardwalk on the edge of the Newry River as well as 375m of 3m wide unbound gravel greenway and 110m of 3m wide bound asphalt greenway. Currently work is at an advanced stage by Louth County Council on the Omeath to the border stretch. When these sections are complete it will provide a mostly off-road route from Newry City to Carlingford village.
It is expected that work will begin as soon as possible with funding from the European Union INTERREG VA programme managed by SEUPB thought to be extended to the end of December 2023.
