Muff section of cross-border Derry - Donegal greenway construction to begin

Donegal County Council has announced that E Quinn Civils Ltd has won the contract to construct the Muff section of the Derry-Muff greenway.
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This is the first section of the EU-funded greenway project to be built in the county and forms the opening section of the Inishowen greenway, which is a long-term objective of Donegal County Council’s greenway strategy.

The contractor is scheduled to commence work on September 9 and the route is scheduled to be completed in early 2022.

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Rónán Gallagher, the greenway project’s communication officer, said the news was ‘fantastic’ for Inishowen and Donegal in general, and a ‘tangible sign of the Council’s commitment to active travel and encouraging people to interact with their community in a more environmentally-friendly way.’

Work on the Muff section is to begin within weeks.Work on the Muff section is to begin within weeks.
Work on the Muff section is to begin within weeks.

He concluded: ‘This section has been made possible by the Council’s vision and the funding secured from INTERREG VA, administered by SEUPB.

“The project team would like to acknowledge the support of those funders, as well as the support of the Members of the Inishowen Municipal District, and not least the people of Muff who have been enthusiastic about the project since its inception in September 2017.”

Donegal County Council also confirmed earlier this year that the planning application for the greenway linking Buncrana to Bridgend - as part of the overall Derry City to Buncrana route - will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála this year.

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The route will complete the INTERREG-funded sections, as construction in Lifford is virtually completed and Muff will commence during the summer months.

The Buncrana route was selected after an extensive consultation process began in February 2018, culminating with the preferred corridor being published in July 2019.

While the project suffered delays because of the restrictions imposed as a result of Covid-19, from July 2020 to May 2021 landowners along the route corridor were engaged by the Council, discussing the alignment and accommodation works required.

Funding for the route has been provided through the EU’s INTERREG VA programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) with match funding from the Department for Infrastructure in NI and the Department for Transport in Ireland.

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The greenway corridor selected in 2019 links Bridgend to Burnfoot before carrying on to Inch Nature Reserve, where one alignment spurs for Newtowncunningham, and a second alignment continues on to Fahan marina and ends at the shore front in Buncrana.

In June 2020, Derry City and Strabane District Council submitted the planning application which will link into this portion of the greenway at Bridgend.

In June, the Inishowen Greenway was awarded €45,000 for a route selection on an 8km section from Muff to Quigley’s Point and E180,000 for a 32km section from Buncrana to Carndonagh, as part of a total package of €4.5million in the South.