A local Councillor has expressed his severe disappointment at news that it will take at least another three years before an application will be ready to progress the Galway to Athlone greenway, through Ballinasloe and Portumna.

The project is a joint collaboration between Galway and Westmeath County Councils – but it now appears that it will be 2028 before a planning application will be sought.

Cllr Michael Connolly claimed that means the area will lose out financially because of this delay, with ‘environmental evaluations’ having to be carried out in advance of planning application being submitted.

The walking and cycling greenway was set to run through Oranmore, Rinville, Clarinbridge, Kilcolgan, Kinvara, Gort, Woodford, Portumna, Meelick, Clonfert, Ballinasloe, Shannonbridge, and onto Athlone Castle.

It links places of interest, established tourism centres, public parks, and outdoor amenities.

Cllr Connolly said that renewed efforts had to take place to draw up a planning application that would be acceptable from an environmental perspective. He said that there was funding in place for the project.

“There shouldn’t be an issue as much of it will be through State-owned boglands so I cannot see a problem. A lot of this can be put down to environmental madness,” he added.

The opening of the new Athlone cycleway bridge, in August 2023, was seen as a landmark moment in the development of the national, off-road Dublin to Galway cycle route.

But while the route’s infrastructure east of the Shannon has now been put in place, the development of the westward section has been hampered by number of setbacks over the years.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Athlone to Galway cycleway was being split into two separate projects.

Westmeath County Council will be managing the development of the first 83km section from Athlone to Portumna, via Shannonbridge.

Galway County Council will be looking after the remaining 114km section from Portumna to Ballyloughane, on the outskirts of Galway city.

Senior officials have now said that a range of environmental evaluations would need to be carried out over multiple seasons before planning permission could be sought for the Athlone to Portumna section.

As a result, they said it did not anticipate the planning application would b completed for at least another three years.

It has been stated that in order to progress the project, Galway County Council and Westmeath County Council need to jointly engage in advancing the project jointly.

“We have to advance this project in order to develop the tourist industry in Ballinasloe and East Galway in general. The greenway is already in place to Athlone so all we need to do is advance it further,” added Cllr Connolly.

Pictured: Moylough’s Cllr Michael Connolly in Poolboy, Ballinasloe where the proposed Athlone to Galway greenway is expected to be constructed. The town of Ballinasloe and the River Suck is in the backround. Photo: Gerry Stronge.