Where is our Greenway?

Derry City and Strabane County Council’s inability to deliver the Derry-Bridgend greenway is an embarrassment for the elected Members and Executive officers alike.

The Wee Greenway Initiative was established in 2014 by Blaise Harvey and myself.

Given the unfolding climate crisis, transport gridlock and health issues directly attributed to our daily inactivity, we had a vision for Derry and Inishowen to reduce the number of utility journeys taken by private, motorised transport.

Although we were aware such a project would have to make its way through the statutory planning process, like other parts of Ireland and continental Europe, we hoped the old redundant Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway corridor could be utilised (where possible) to deliver a safe, segregated route whereby people would chose to cycle and walk to their destination.

Proposed Derry bike scheme raises questions about failure to action Derry to Bridgend Greenway

Council’s proposed Bikes Scheme follows the Department’s allocation of £500,000 this year to the already existing Belfast Bikes Scheme for the purchase of e-bikes.

We presented a proposal to the Inishowen Municipal District (of Donegal County Council) at a meeting in Carndonagh in Spring 2015.

In September 2015, we wrote to school principals that educate 14,000 students whose schools were located on or near the potential route.

In January 2016, we delivered a strategy to Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) on the project’s merits, including costings.

The Pennyburn Bridge and Bay Park connection has been a huge success.

By summer, both local authorities were enthusiastic with their support for our cross-border greenway vision and in December 2016, the EU awarded funding to deliver part of the route under the auspices of its INTERREG programme, namely to develop and construct cross-border infrastructure to encourage cycling and walking.

The funding was to be administered via the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). This meant that the sections linking Derry to Muff and Derry to Buncrana (approximately 43kms) would be delivered along with a smaller route connecting Strabane to Lifford.

In total, 46.5kms of ‘greenway’ were to be funded by our European neighbours, with the assistance of Leinster House and Stormont.

I was fortunate enough to be employed on the project and worked with Donegal County Council from 2017-2022 as the Communications Officer, liaising closely with the Project Manager, who was employed by DCSDC. Meeting with interested parties – including landowners, elected representatives and community groups – gave me a complete picture as to how both councils went about their business to deliver infrastructure for their respective communities.

Unfortunately, while the route linking Derry to Muff was delivered as scheduled (to the benefit of Thornhill College and Hollybush School), issues arose regarding the preferred corridor for the Derry to Buncrana section of the Inishowen greenway (known at this time as the North West Greenway Network).

While the DCSDC councillors eventually approved planning permission for the section linking St Columb’s College to Bridgend, the requirement of Donegal County Council (DCC) to provide an Environmental Impact Assessment Report as part of the route towards Buncrana, meant that this section of the project would not be delivered within the timeframe set by EU guidelines.

To ensure the North West City Region did not lose this crucial funding, we came up with a plan to extend the greenway in Muff towards Quigley’s Point (coincidentally part of our Wee Greenway vision), and build a section out from Lifford towards Castlefinn.

Both of these projects were efficiently delivered by the Roads Directorate of Donegal County Council and were operational by May 2024.

But even while these section were being lauded by both councils in the regional media, DCSDC was quietly bringing down the curtain on the Derry-Bridgend route.

Rather than seek new and separate funding to deliver Derry to Bridgend, the council walked away from the project completely.

Despite approximately one million euro being invested through the route selection and planning processes, DCSDC has quietly chosen to park this integral section of the Inishowen greenway, one which linked the regional city to Donegal’s second largest town.

In December 2024, I sought clarification on this issue from DCSDC’s Director of Environment and Regeneration. Their response was: ‘whilst delivery of this route (Derry-Bridgend) remains a priority, it is not currently a funded project, so it is difficult for our Council to confirm a time scale for progress.’

The traffic gridlock that unfolded on the opening day of the Foyle Cup last week is a symptom of the leadership vacuum currently shown in Derry city.

While DCSDC has limited scope and power to deliver on road and railway infrastructure, with great fanfare it published the Local Development Plan (LDP) Plan Strategy 2025-30. I remember the One Plan (was that 2013?) and the subsequent North West Greenway Plan (2015) that promised 250kms of segregated cycling lanes and greenways.

In 2022, the Strategic Growth Plan 2017-2032 specifically listed the Derry-Buncrana greenway as a ‘key action’ to ‘connect our people and our opportunities through our infrastructure’.

We are now midway through 2025 with 2026 knocking on our door. While Donegal County Council has once again picked up the ball and is at various stages of delivering the remaining sections of the Inishowen Greenway (including the Bridgend-Buncrana section), there is no drive from DSCDC to secure funding and deliver on its part of the project. As Donegal delivers, Derry flounders. Why is that?