
Boyne Greenway, Drogheda-Mornington, Rejected by An Bord Pleanála
Planning permission has been rejected for the Boyne Greenway, Drogheda-Mornington section, by An Bord Pleanála
In what is a huge blow the Boyne Greenway project and the local community, An Bord Pleanála (ABP) have rejected Meath County Council’s (MCC) application for the Drogheda-Mornington extension. This comes on top of ABP having already sought ‘Significant Further Information’ for the section from MCC in early 2022.
ABP said it is not satisfied that MCC has demonstrated beyond reasonable scientific doubt that the proposed greenway would not adversely affect the integrity of the the site, namely the Boyne Coast and Estuary SAC/SPA and the River Boyne and Blackwater SAC. The report (see below), states: “in the absence of detailed information on the installation of the proposed boardwalk within the SAC, and any possible changes to Annex I habitats during the lifetime of the proposed greenway, the Board cannot rule out the possibility of adverse effects on site integrity.”
Navan Cycling Initiative are extremely concerned that another section of the Boyne Greenway has been delayed. This comes on top of the delays we have recently highlighted on the Drogheda-Navan section. We have serious concerns as to why ABP state that there “is an absence of detailed information of the proposed boardwalk”, and why the Significant Further Information which was previously submitted by MCC did not satisfied the requirements of ABP at the time. We also have concerns with the constant delays within ABP and why it took almost two years to decide this application.

Further reasons for the rejection are show in the screenshots below:
This is yet another blow to the overall Boyne Greenway project and it remains to be seen what happens next. We urgently need active travel infrastructure in place to make it safer to cycle. The people of Meath and Louth have waited an extremely long time for this greenway and it is very concerning that we seem to struggle these projects while active travel amenities and greenways are happening all around Ireland. For more on the Boyne Greenway Project see here.

