Louth County Council has responsibility for planning and managing development within the study area. Planning applications and new developments may still be granted within the study area, however as some planning applications may affect the project, all relevant planning applications will be reviewed by the project team. Each planning application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In line with the TII Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways and TII Project Management Guidelines, broad Route Corridor Options have been developed. It should be noted that these corridors do not represent the actual width of the proposed greenway development or the lands to be acquired – the corridors simply indicate the lands within which a greenway alignment could feasibly be developed by the Project Team. The Route Corridor Options shown may be subject to change as a result of consultation with landowners and members of the public, including feedback from this public consultation, feedback from stakeholders and further investigations and assessments, including environmental, land and geotechnical surveys. The Preferred Route Corridor may be comprised of a option, or a combination of different options. Currently, the corridors are approximately 50m in width (although wider in a number of locations) while the width of lands required for the greenway would typically be between 5-10m.

According to the Strategy for the Future Development of National and Regional Greenways (DTTAS, 2018), a greenway can be described as “a recreational or pedestrian corridor for non-motorised journeys, developed in an integrated manner which enhances both the environment and quality of life of the surrounding area”. ​ 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 Liaison Officer(s) (PLO) will liaise and engage with affected parties or their representatives on any matters relating to the Greenway scheme including the route corridor options. Contact details for the PLO are available on the project website.

The Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways (click here to access) promotes the use of Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreements as the preferred means of acquiring lands. Where private land acquisition is necessary following the selection of the preferred Route Corridor Option, the Project Liaison Officer and Louth County Council will engage with individual landowners in an effort to agree upon a process that minimises the impact on their respective farm / property holdings and will seek to enter into Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreements where possible. The process of agreeing Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreements will be initiated in advance of Louth County Council making an application for planning consent. An early sign-on payment will be paid by Louth County Council to the landowner once a Voluntary Agreement has been signed and the farmer’s / landowner’s Solicitor has provided satisfactory evidence that good title is available. This early sign-on payment, where applicable, will be over and above the negotiated land acquisition / compensation payment to be determined between the landowner and the project promoter due to the potential effects of the scheme on the landholding. Where it does not prove possible to establish a Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreement, it may be necessary to compulsorily purchase the lands necessary for the scheme. This mechanism will, however, only be exercised as a last resort and in circumstances where for example: A Voluntary Agreement between parties cannot be agreed upon following comprehensive negotiation. An alternative economically feasible route that satisfies the scheme objectives and Code of Best Practice criteria does not exist. There are legal issues e.g. unregistered land, proof of ownership (clean title) etc. Any landowner whose land is affected will be entitled to compensation in accordance with legislation and practice.

An Independent Agronomist has been engaged by Louth County Council to assist landowners through the project considering any relevant agronomy issues. Contact details of the Independent Agronomist are on the Contact page of the website.The Independent Agronomist will be made available to landowners to fully and fairly assess the impact of the proposed Greenway on their farms, business and other property types. The Independent Project / Property Advisor will assist in identifying a route which minimises the impact of the scheme on affected properties. The Project Agronomist / Property Advisor will also assist in agreeing upon appropriate accommodation works and access arrangements in consultation with the farmer / landowner Agronomist / Property Advisor.

There are currently several NTA funded Active Travel projects being developed by Louth County Council to address cyclist and pedestrian access within Dundalk. The proposed Greenway will connect to these projects to the north of Táin Bridge and in doing so allows for pedestrian and cyclist access within Dundalk to train services at Dundalk Clarke Station and the Bus Éireann station at The Long Walk. Further information on Active Travel projects within Dundalk can be found at Louth County Council's Online Consultation Portal - https://consult.louthcoco.ie/en

Where necessary, fences shall be provided to assist in preventing trespass and for the protection of members of the public and animals. Fencing and boundary treatment will be discussed and agreed with the landowner and provided by Louth County Council. At a minimum, fencing will be stock proof (i.e. suitable for the containment of cattle and sheep) and will have regard to the farming activity carried out by the landowner at the date of land acquisition. Permanent fencing including crossing points, if required, will be erected / replaced with appropriate materials in each case. Where any fences, walls, boundary treatments or hedges are damaged they will be made good and will be reinstated with similar materials at least as good as heretofore, in a timely manner. Boundary fences erected as part of the Greenway will be maintained by Louth County Council, unless otherwise agreed. The type of fencing will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis with each landowner and their representative. The type of boundary treatment will vary depending on land use.

Where a farmer / landowner needs access across the Greenway to severed land, Louth County Council shall provide a suitable means of crossing. The crossings will be designed to facilitate the movement of farm machinery and include a gated arrangement to allow the safe crossing of livestock. The farmer / landowner undertakes to ensure crossings are managed in a safe, efficient and timely manner. Greenway users should afford reasonable opportunity for this and not interfere with this activity. Louth County Council will make every effort to avoid crossing any private access roads / driveways. Where a crossing is required, pedestrians and cyclists will give way to property owners using the private access road / driveway.

The project is currently at Phase 2 Option Selection, which involves the development and assessment of feasible Route Corridor Options to ultimately determine a Preferred Route Corridor. The second non-statutory public consultation was held on Wednesday 19th June 2024, presenting the Route Corridor Options being considered. The Project Team are currently reviewing and assessing the submissions received in response to this public consultation event. The first non-statutory public consultation was held on Thursday, 7th December 2023. The aim of that public consultation was to receive feedback on the Study Area, the constraints identified and any other features/opportunities that the Project Team should consider. Following the feedback received during the non-statutory public consultations, initial Route Corridor Options were developed and are now being refined and assessed to identify an Emerging Preferred Route Corridor.

Louth County Council will indemnify the landowner against all actions, claims and demands arising from advanced surveys, investigation works and its acquisition of the land for the Greenway, for both the construction and operational phases of the scheme, other than claims arising from negligence or neglect on the part of the landowner.

The proposed greenway will seek to connect with the existing Carlingford Lough Greenway, facilitating a continuous cross-border greenway from Dundalk in Co. Louth to Newry in County Down. The proposed greenway provides the local population and tourists to the area an attractive recreational facility as well as a potential active travel alternative for routine trips. The project is currently in Phase 2 Option Selection, which involves the development and assessment of feasible Route Corridor Options to determine an Emerging Preferred Route Corridor which will be presented at the third public consultation. The study area for the proposed greenway project encompasses the Regional Centre of Dundalk and the coastal town of Carlingford, along with the interconnecting road network. The R173 Regional Road is the main route connecting Dundalk with Carlingford. The R173, along with other regional and local roads in the study area have no provision for pedestrians and cyclists. High vehicle speeds, narrow road widths and lack of segregated facilities make the road network unattractive for pedestrians and cyclists.

The proposed greenway will provide the local population and tourists with a safe and attractive recreational facility that is accessible by all vulnerable road users. It will provide access to attractions within Carlingford, Dundalk and enroute, giving members of the public a greater appreciation of the natural environment, scenic landscape and archaeological / cultural heritage sites in the area. The development will also provide opportunities for existing and new businesses to support users of the greenway whilst enhancing and connecting to existing and proposed active travel facilities.

It is the objective of the Project Team that impacts on properties are avoided or minimised insofar as possible. At this stage of the process, the Route Corridor Options are broad, and until a preferred Route Corridor Option is selected and the greenway designed, it is not possible to determine the exact impacts, if any, there may be on your property. It is not the intention of the Project Team that the footprint of any houses or gardens would be directly impacted by the proposed greenway, however this cannot be ruled out at this stage. Once the preferred Route Corridor Option is selected, environmental assessments, surveys, and design development will take place and where necessary mitigation will be proposed by specialists to reduce any impacts on properties insofar as possible.

The Project Team will review and consider all submissions received. These will be assessed to determine whether any amendments are necessary to the Route Corridor Options presented, or that influence the decision-making process when selecting the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor. We are particularly interested to hear from anyone who has information on any constraints or opportunities that have not been identified, or suggestions that would minimise the impacts of any options on the receiving environment.

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 section of this Project Website for information on how you can have your say.