At the Municipal District Meeting on 19th December I requested an update to the current status of the Grand Canal Greenway project between Hazelhatch and the 12th Lock.
Question
Can the council confirm what is the status of project funding for the development of the Grand Canal Greenway from Hazelhatch to 12th Lock as of 01 December 2019 and the timeline for the project’s development in 2020?
Response
Funding has been secured for the development o the Grand Canal Greenway from Aylmer Bridge (in South Dublin) to Sallins. Works on this section will commence in 2020 and be completed in 2021. Once this 11km section has been completed, a further funding application will be submitted for the remaining section from Sallins to Clonkeen.
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Follow up: As this response did not answer the question, I followed up with regard to the specific section of Hazelhatch to 12th Lock. The response confirmed that funding is not available and that construction will not take place on this section in 2020. I will continue to work to ensure we can rapidly develop the Greenway to create the real option of cycling to Dublin. If we are serious about a modal-shift we need to prioritise these very do-able infrastructural projects.
Update: Ardclough & Sallins and Grange Castle & Hazelhatch.
The entire length of the Grand Canal from Lyons Estate to the Offaly border is included in the proposed Greenway, that includes the section between Ardclough to Sallins. The entire route is permitted under a Part 8 process.
The section between Grange Castle & Hazelhatch is also included in the proposed scheme, the majority of that section is under the control of South Dublin County Council. There is a portion of that length which is in County Kildare. However, it was decided that South Dublin County Council would include that portion in their Part 8 process. This was done by a formal agreement (Section 85), which the Councillors in both Authorities voted upon and agreed.
South Dublin County Council commenced the Part 8 process, but their proposal was appealed to An Bord Pleanala on environmental grounds. It was claimed that their AA screening and EIAR were not sufficiently carried out. It is not known if the Bord have yet determined that appeal but I am looking into this.
As it was on appeal during the funding application stage, no funding was awarded to that section. So it may be some time before that section is shovel ready.
Funding has been secured to complete the section from Ardclough to Sallins. However, the timescale for the construction are unknown at this point. This is because management of the project is still not finalised and discussions are ongoing whether it will be KCC or Waterways Ireland who manage the project.
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Municipal District meeting: 21st February 2020
Question: Can the council update the members on the progress of the Kildare section of the Royal Canal Greenway from Maynooth to the Dublin border?
Report: This scheme is at detailed design stage. A number of issues have been resolved between the NTA, Waterways Ireland and Kildare County Council and it is anticipated that this scheme will be tendered in Quarter 2, 2020.
Hi Vanessa,
With regard to the Hazelhatch to 12th lock section, I understand ABP rejected the EIA appeal. Do you know if there is any more news on this section?
Cycled it yesterday, boneshaker in current state but otherwise quite serene!
Thanks
Hi Kevin,
With regard to further news on this section, I received this update from the department in January with regard to the issue of funding.
In 2019 funding was allocated to Kildare County Council for the section from Hazelhatch to Sallins and to Offaly County Council for the section from Daingean to Lough Boora. This section in South Dublin from 12th Lock to Hazelhatch Bridge was estimated to cost €500,0000 but was not co-funded as there were sections in Offaly and Kildare – Alymer Bridge to Sallins in Kildare- which offered more to see and do for visitors and given the lack of housing along that section it did not fit with NTA commuter cycling funding requirements either. At that stage the Department was limited in the funding available to it.
The commitment in the Programme for Government has reduced those constraints. Unfortunately Covid has delayed progress on developments and the department hopes to see significant progress on the Kildare section in 2021 and this will help push the case for completing the South Dublin section.
South Dublin County Council are currently working on a feasibility study to develop a scheme to link the Grand and Royal Canals with a Canal Loop Greenway. The scheme is being run in partnership with Fingal County Council, Waterways Ireland, the National Transport Authority, it is intended that as that work progresses the Department will look again at funding the construction of the section of the Grand Canal Greenway from Hazelhatch to the 12th lock during 2021.
I will keep you updated on any further information or progress on the stretch.