Fingal County Council has welcomed the allocation of €200,000 towards the Fingal Coastal Way, a 32km recreational walking and cycling route stretching from Newbridge Demesne in Donabate to the county boundary between Balbriggan and Drogheda.

Awarded under the Carbon Tax Fund 2020 by the new Department of Climate Change, Communications Networks and Transport, the funding was part of a total allocation of €4.5 million towards the feasibility, planning and design of 26 greenways around the country.

It’s envisaged Fingal Coastal Way “will provide a high quality, safe and environmentally sympathetic coastal walking and cycle route that will connect Newbridge Demesne, Donabate, Rush, Loughshinny, Skerries and Balbriggan”.

A non-statutory public consultation will take place before the end of this year, which will set out three to five route options over the entire route corridor

Following a series of public consultations in late 2019 on the opportunities and constraints for the Fingal Coastal Way, the development of the route options is under way.

A non-statutory public consultation will take place before the end of this year, which will set out three to five route options over the entire route corridor. This will inform the preparation of a planning application and environmental assessment through 2021 and submission of the application in early 2022.

The flagship project will ultimately connect to the €12m Broadmeadow Way, a 6km off-road cycling and walking route linking Malahide and Donabate across the scenic Broadmeadow Estuary, which was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála in May.

A third project under way is the Malahide-to-Sutton Greenway — part of which, the €2.5m Baldoyle-to-Portmarnock section, was officially opened in June.

Design and planning work on the next phase of the project, linking the greenway to Sutton and Malahide, through Portmarnock village, is under way and public consultation is expected to take place later in 2020.

Mayor of Fingal Cllr David Healy said: “I very much welcome the allocation under the Carbon Tax Fund towards this flagship Fingal project, which will provide a high quality amenity for local, national and international visitors along our coastline.

‘In a regional context, the Fingal Coastal Way will form part of the East Coast Trail’

“This project will have massive quality of life benefits for our residents as it will increase the numbers of people who will chose to cycle and walk thereby reducing private car use and lowering carbon emissions and reducing congestion. It will also improve safety for cyclists through the provision of off-road, segregated cycle facilities as well as improving air quality levels.”

Fingal County Council chief executive AnnMarie Farrelly said: “The Fingal Coastal Way will be a great amenity; this and all of the greenways will bring significant benefits in terms of sustainable transport, economic development, health and wellbeing.”

Senior engineer Paul Carroll added: “In a regional context, the Fingal Coastal Way will form part of the East Coast Trail, providing safe, direct and convenient route for walkers and cyclists between Dublin City, Fingal and Meath, and ultimately connecting Louth with Wicklow and Wexford.”