Preliminary design for Boyne Greenway to be in place by year’s end

Meath County Council expects to have a preliminary design in place for the Boyne Greenway by the end of the year.

Plans for the Boyne Greenway which will extend from Mornington to Navan, and has been hailed as a gamechanger for tourism in the region, are expected to go on public display later this year.

Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Wayne Harding was told last week that topographical and ground investigation surveys have recently been completed and the project team have been making progress on the preliminary design.

Further environmental and ecological surveys will be undertaken and when the preliminary design is complete, a full consultation and engagement with landowners, relevant stakeholders and the public will then take place – this is expected in late 2025.

Cllr Wayne Harding welcomed the news.

“It is now heading towards a decade since I lead a delegation to Waterford to meet the then CE of Waterford County Council to look at how he delivered the hugely successful Waterford Greenway. I want to acknowledge the painstaking work engineers and consultants have undertaken since then.

“The delivery of the Boyne Greenway will be a game changer for County Meath with the Boyne, the main artery of the county, being transformed into a cycle and pedestrian corridor. Both the government and council have invested heavily, with the state acquisition of 500 acres at Dowth Hall and the council acquiring one of the four period houses in Slane village and its 8.3 acre garden, and the old Spicer buildings in Navan.

“The river also contains the Bru na Boinne World Heritage site which houses the internationally famous tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth and The Battle of the Boyne site.”

Cllr Harding said Meath County Council had also delivered a really brilliant footpath link from the Rathmullen road junction in Drogheda to the Boyne boardwalk at Oldbridge which has opened up access to Oldbridge to thousands of houses in the Drogheda environs.

“I am absolutely convinced this greenway will be world class and will have an extraordinary impact on the region for decades to come with future generations building on the infrastructure already being put in place.

“There is absolutely no reason why the river water quality can't be restored to a high standard and a region specific to the arts be established . Colleges could be introduced to the rapidly growing towns of Navan and Drogheda and there are already plans for craft studios in the earlier mentioned period house garden in Slane village.

“I hope to see real progress in relation to the Boyne Greenway in my year as Cathaoirleach, but I intend to look for investment in its almost 60kms from Bettystown beach to Trim for as long as I'm involved in politics. The people who built Newgrange 5000 years ago knew there was something extraordinarily special about the river Boyne. Weather permitting I swim in it most days during the summer, I know it's special. It's an absolute no brainer and really anything is possible.”

Cllr Harding said that nearly 200 years ago Oscar Wilde's father, William, wrote a book that is still academically acclaimed as a fantastic chronicle of the paths of the Boyne and Blackwater.

“It is uncanny how it echoes down the centuries as he explains how you could take a train to Navan, Drogheda or Beauparc and take a one, two or three day trip along the river Boyne. He also said the Boyne has monuments along its path to represent every stage of human existence on the island of Ireland.”

Preliminary plans for Navan to Oldbridge section of the Greenway went on public display last year, with the emerging preferred route for the walking/cycling path, running largely along the south bank of the Boyne. That section will link with the existing Drogheda to Oldbridge Greenway.

A planning application for a section from Mornington to Drogheda was refused, but ultimately there are plans to lodge a revised application and extend the Greenway to Mornington.