A 32km greenway, which was first mooted six years ago, has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála in south Kerry. An Bord Pleanála also included the purchase of over 220 landholdings along the route.
Last year at a Kerry County Council hearing, it was stated that the greenway would help address the economic and population decline in the south of the country.
The compulsory purchase orders received quite a lot of criticism particularly from farmers, however the chairman of the Kerry branch of the Irish Farmers’ Association ‘Pat O’Driscoll’ stated that the association recognises the importance of such projects and were committed to working with all agencies to develop a Voluntary Land Acquisition Agreement that would remove the use of CPO’s.
The three-metre wide greenway is hoped to be as successful as the Great Western Greenway and the Waterford Greenway.