WITH plans for the Enniskillen to Sligo greenway progressing, the local community has been invited to a workshop in Belcoo next week to help develop the project.
Nicknamed the ‘Marble Arch Greenway’, the proposed 75km walking and cycling route follows the former Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR), connecting Enniskillen to Sligo via Belcoo and Blacklion. It is estimated it will take seven years to complete.
The ‘concept and feasibility’ phase of the project has already been completed, and in August it was announced that the €11 million (£9,658,00) project had been approved to move on to Phase 2 of the public consultation process.
This will concentrate on considering the feasible options and examine their costs, benefits and effects on their environment.
The greenway is a joint project by Fermanagh and Omagh Council, Cavan and Leitrim county councils, the Department for Infrastructure in the North, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland.
A spokesman for Fermanagh and Omagh Council said, “Local communities have been to the fore in developing the idea of a greenway in the area and the opportunity which the historic SLNCR that linked Enniskillen to Collooney presents.
“There are many surviving signs of the railway line including stations, road crossings, cottages, earthworks and bridges.”
Public consultation events are currently being held across the proposed route of the greenway, which will pass through Letterbreen, Belcoo, Blacklion, Glenfarne, Manorhamilton, Domahair, Ballintogher, and Collooney.
To this end, next Wednesday, October 18, company Urban Foresight, on behalf of the greenway partners, will be holding an in-person workshop at the Belcoo Community Centre from 10am-12pm.
“The aim of the workshop is to gain input and insights from communities and businesses along the route to help develop the vision and better understand the potential impact on the local economy,” said the Council spokesman.
“It will also explore how European routes have had an impact and the needs of the communities and businesses in the local area.”
To find out more, register for the event, or to take an online survey to give your views on the project, visit www.fermanaghomagh.com and search for ‘SLNCR Greenway’.
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