At the May meeting of Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Planning Permission for the Border to Middletown section of the Ulster Canal Greenway (2.2km), was approved by the members. This is another important milestone for the project, and with planning approval already in place for the Monaghan Town to the Border section, it means that the Project Team are now progressing with the detailed design and land acquisition stages for the entire project.

It is planned to go to tender for the construction stage of the project in Autumn and programmed to commence works early in 2023.

Route Options for Phase 3 of the Ulster Canal Greenway between Smithborough and Clones have now been developed. Public Consultation events are being held for communities along the proposed route of the Greenway. Landowners, local communities and the general public are invited to attend one of these events to review the route options and to provide feedback to the project team. These drop-in sessions will be held in;

Smithborough Community Hall, Tuesday 26th October 5-8pm
The Courthouse, Clones Wednesday 3rd November 5-8pm

Click on the link below to view the Project Brochure which includes drawings showing the route options and details of how you can provide your feedback.

Following months of delays due to Covid 19 restrictions, the preferred route for the Monaghan to Smithborough leg of the Greenway has finally been selected.

Click on the links below to view drawings of the route.  To keep the file size manageable, we have split the drawings into separate pdf files, each one showing the equivalent of one A3 page-sized section of the route.  

The route is arranged from west to east, ie from the Smithboro end to the Monaghan end, and each file is named by the townlands that it covers. 

To view a file, just click the file name.  To save it to your device, click on the ‘download’ option.

At the July meeting of Monaghan County Council, the Part 8 Planning application for the Monaghan Town to the Border section of the Ulster Canal Greenway, (7.8km), was approved by the members. This is an important milestone for the project, and with planning approval for the Border to Middletown section (2.2km) expected later this year from Armagh Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, it means that the Project Team can now progress to the detailed design and the land acquisition stage.

A further Part 8 application for the Monaghan to Smithborough leg is currently being prepared and will be submitted to Monaghan County Council in the autumn.

The Ulster Canal Greenway Phase 2 reached an important milestone recently with formal Planning applications for the Monaghan Town to Middletown leg submitted to Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Monaghan Co. Council respectively.

Plans and particulars of the Monaghan to the Border section of the proposed development, Planning Ref: 21/8005, will be available for inspection (or purchase at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy) during normal office hours from Thursday, 1^st April 2021 until Thursday 29^th April 2021 (inclusive) at the following locations:

Monaghan County Council, County Offices, No1 Dublin Street, Monaghan, H18 X982, and their website: https://monaghan.ie/planning/online-planning-tools/

The NI UCG application is uploaded to the NI Planning Portal and under consideration with reference number LA08/2021/0378/F – see link below:

LA08/2021/0378/F | The construction of the Northern Ireland section of the cross border Ulster Canal Greenway between Monaghan Town and Middletown. Consisting of the creation of a 5m wide corridor incorporating: a granular surface course path of gravel and dust, a verge either side and timber guardrails. Additional works include: creation of parking and amenity area near Annagola Bridge, Middletown, and vegetation clearance and enhancement repairs to listed lockkeepers house and historic bridge and lock at Foyduff. | Corridor of land from Ardgonnell Bridge on the border at the River Cor West of No.347 Monaghan Road Co.Armagh to Annagola Bridge Middletown BT60 4JQ (planningni.gov.uk)

A further planning application for the Smithborough to Monaghan leg will be submitted to Monaghan County Council later this year.

Route Options for Phase 2 of the Ulster Canal Greenway between Smithborough and Middletown have now been developed. Public Consultation events are being held for communities along the proposed route of the Greenway. Landowners, local communities and the general public are invited to attend one of these events to review the route options and to provide feedback to the project team. These drop-in sessions will be held in;

Smithborough Community Hall, Tuesday 3rd September 4-8pm
Tyholland Community Sports Complex, Wednesday 11th September 4-8pm
Middletown Markethouse Main St, Thursday 19th September 4-8pm

This project is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Monaghan County Council has appointed Doran Consulting to provide Integrated Consultant Team ICT design team for Phase 2 of the Ulster Canal Greenway. This project will see the existing Monaghan Town Greenway extended west to Smithborough and east to Middletown, Co. Armagh. A spur of the Greenway is also proposed along the route of the Monaghan Town Bypass. This 22km project will follow the route of the Ulster Canal wherever possible.
The project is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The Special EU Programmes Body is a North/South Implementation Body sponsored by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Ireland. It is responsible for managing two EU Structural Funds Programmes, PEACE IV and INTERREG VA which are designed to enhance cross-border cooperation, promote reconciliation and create a more peaceful and prosperous society.
Over the coming months the design team will be required to identify potential route options and identify a preferred route corridor. Planning approval will then be applied for before the lands are acquired and construction commences.
During the design stage of the project there will be opportunities for landowners, stakeholders and the general public to have input and give feedback.

Photos taken at the Smithborough Community Information Event, October 18th 2018

Pictured at the third public consultation event in Smithboro Community Hall. L-R Cllr Pat Treanor, Frank Brady Chairperson Monaghan IFA, Roisin Moore Project Manager Monaghan County Council, Paul Clifford Director of Service Monaghan County Council & Joe Gillespie Waterways Ireland Northern Regional Manager 

Thank you to everyone who attended the Public Consultation events in October – We look forward to meeting with you all again at future events in 2019.