Funding boost of €500,000 for greenway project

The Boyne Valley to Lakelands County Greenway which will eventually run from Navan to Kingscourt along the old railway line, received a major funding boost today with the announcement of another €500,000 for the project.

The funding will be used to develop the greenway between Castletown and Wilkinstown and means that funding is now in place to complete 18km of the greenway between Navan and Nobber.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys visited Nobber this morning where she officially opened the greenway, before going on to announce €15.5m in funding for 84 outdoor recreation projects around the country including over €900,000 for projects in Meath.

Also in attendance were local ministers Helen McEntee and Thomas Byrne as well as Meath County Council Cathaoirleach Sean Drew, Meath County Council Chief Executive Jackie Maguire, council officials and local councillors. Tributes were paid to local councillor Eugene Cassidy for all his hard work on the project with Minister Humphreys joking that she had heard more about this project than any other her department was funding this year and that Cllr Cassidy had her on "speed dial".

Minister McEntee also paid tribute to his work saying he had a "path worn for every single type of application going" and that the greenway would not have happened without him.

Other local projects to benefit from the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme include €200,000 for the Drumconrath Walking trail which will see a footpath constructed to link the village with the GAA club, while Ribbontail Car Park Amenity in Longwood will receive funding of €152,000 for a car park and public lighting at the access point for the Royal Canal Greenway.

A sum of €39,900 has been approved for the Laytown Riverside Park for detailed planning and design for a park adjacent to the mouth of the River Nanny and Laytown beach, under the scheme's project development measures.

Six other projects around the county will also receive funding of up to €20,000. They include Balrath Woods, €13,500; Patrickstown Viewing Point, €19,800; Castletown Amenity areas €19,811,; Jamestown Bog, €13,537; Rathcairn Amenity Park Repairs €8,797; Cycle Repair Stations in Duleek, Donore, Ardcath, Bellewstown and Stamullen, €8420.

WATCH: How the greenway is already benefiting the local community and hear about plans to further extend the amenity.