Second Offaly cycle and walkway project approved for BnM lands

An ambitious plan to create a network of walking and cycling trails on BnM (formerly Bord na Móna) lands across the Midlands took another major step forward this week with the granting of planning permission for a second project in Offaly which will see a 19km stretch of walking and cycling routes developed in the east of the county.

The latest development follows on from a similar project which was granted planning permission in April of last year for a 28km network of walking and cycling trails in west Offaly.

Both projects – consisting of a shared cycle and walkway amenity - will utilise the former narrow gauge rail beds across the bogs of east and west Offaly to create the Midlands Trail Network. The trails are designed to link in with the existing Grand Canal Greenway to create what Bord na Móna has described as a “regenerative and sustainable form of tourism.”

The latest tourism project to received approval is planned for Bord na Móna lands within the Offaly townlands of Knockballyboy, Clonad, Rathfeston, Gorteenkeel, Island, Clonarrow or Riverlyons, Drumcaw or Mountlucas, Esker Beg, Killeen, Ballyhugh, Mullalough or Cavemount, Coole, Toberdaly, Newtown, Ballycon, Esker More, Colgagh, and Clongarret and will be known as the East Offaly Trail.

It will connect to the existing Grand Canal Greenway within the townslands of Coole and Knockballyboy, and will also link into the public amenity facilities at both Mountlucas Wind Farm and the Cloncreen Wind Farm Amenity Track.

Planning approval has also been granted for the construction of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge, extending to 30.5 metres, across the Grand Canal in the townland of Coole, and adjacent to the existing Grand Canal lift bridge.

Offaly County Council attached seven conditions to the grant of planning permission, including that a detailed programme of HGV deliveries and designated haul routes be submitted to the local authority prior to the commencement of development, and that road opening licences be obtained for works on public roads.

The council has also stipulated that two surveys on the condition of the public roads along the haul routes be carried out at the developer's expense – one before work commences and a second within three months of the completion of the works. The second survey is to include a schedule of repair/upgrade works to be carried out at the developer's expense, with all agreed works to be completed no later than 12 months after the end of the public roads being used as haul routes.

The East Offaly Trail is part of a much larger tourism project across Bord na Móna lands in the five Midland counties of Offaly, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath and Tipperary which were formerly used for peat extraction. The overall plan – known as the Midlands Trail Network – makes provision for the creation of a serviced network of inclusive off-road trails where local people and visitors can explore the Midlands region by bike, e-bike and on foot.

EU Just Transition Funding has been made available to Fáilte Ireland to "support the transition of the Midlands to a carbon neutral destination" with the Midlands Trail Network, and the creation of the East and West Offaly Trails, forming a large part of the overall plan for the diversification of the region away from peat production and into regenerative tourism projects.