Boyne Greenway Frequently Asked Questions

The Boyne Greenway Scheme is proposed to create a safe, attractive and environmentally sympathetic canal and river side walking and cycling route between Andy Brennan Park in Navan and the main gates of Oldbridge Estate, Drogheda, along over 26.5km in length. The Boyne Greenway will be a flagship tourism scheme of regional, national and international significance which will provide access to the wealth and diversity of ecological, cultural, industrial and historical heritage within the Boyne Valley.

Any non-motorized user will be able to enjoy the Boyne Greenway and will be able to travel the entire route. The greenway, however, is not intended to facilitate horses. A key objective of the scheme is to ensure universal accessibility. This includes pedestrians, runners, cyclists of all experience, and wheelchair users (including powered wheelchairs, mobility scooters). Horses are not permitted on greenways. Key aspects of the greenway that will help achieve this is that it will be primarily off road and will have appropriate surface quality and width.

Following the first non-statutory public consultation held in February/March 2021 which presented the proposed route options along the River Boyne, a Stage 2 Options Assessment was completed for the Greenway Scheme, which has identified an EPR. 

A second non-statutory public consultation was held in late 2023/early 2024 on the Emerging Preferred Route. A further public consultation on the design of the preferred route will take place after initial consultations with landowners, statutory bodies and other stakeholders.

Meath County Council will give plenty of notice of the next public consultation in the local press and on it's social media portals. There will be ample opportunity for the public to make submissions which will be considered in the finalisation of the greenway design.

The scheme will be designed to the relevant Irish design standards such as the Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s Rural Cycle Design Guidance and where appropriate the National Transport Authority's Cycle Design Manual. The design will consider the impacts on the environment, property, interaction with traffic, local connections and issues and feedback from the public to ensure that the completed scheme provides the best possible user experience.

It is important to note at this stage that design of the Preferred Route is underway. Design of all the various aspects will take place with due consultation with stakeholders as appropriate.

The development process for the Boyne Greenway is following the Department of Transport's Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways insofar as possible.

Significant consideration is always given to the impact of any route on private property and land. Generally, the Emerging Preferred Route follows the line of the navigation towpath to avoid impact on farmland.

While efforts have been made to reduce the impact on private property and land, some will be required to facilitate the construction of the Boyne Greenway. It is intended that this land will be acquired by agreement as far as possible in line with the Department of Transport's Code of Best Practice for National and Regional Greenways insofar as possible. An independent Agronomist is available for affected landowners. 

A flood modelling assessment has been undertaken for the proposed Boyne Greenway. The results indicated that some sections of the Emerging Preferred Route will flood. Measures such as raising path levels and providing boardwalks have been investigated to keep the route flood free for 95% of the time per year.

The route with these measures in place has been assessed to ensure that no downstream impacts are caused due to the development of the greenway. This work will be further refined at Phase 3 Preliminary Design.

It is proposed that the greenway will be shared between pedestrians and cyclists. The route will be predominantly 3.0m wide or more and thus the scheme will easily accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists’ safety and comfortably without the need to provide separation. 

The route will, in the most part, be off road with minimal interaction with cars.

Yes, since inception of the project, the environmental impact of the scheme has been one of the main considerations and will remain so throughout the development of the project. A constraints study was carried out in which a comprehensive review of the environmentally sensitive sites in the study area was completed. The Preferred Route will be assessed against these as the design develops. At planning application stage, an Environmental Impact Assessment is likely to be required.

The Boyne Greenway is at Phase 3 "Design and Environmental Evaluation".

The design of the greenway preferred route is now underway.

Following the completion of the Navigation Restoration Scheme Feasibility Study and a review of the Feasibility and Options Assessment Report for the Greenway Scheme a decision has been reached that the Navigation Restoration should be considered separately from the Greenway Scheme. Further detail on the how this decision was reached can be obtained from the Executive Summary Report on the Navigation Restoration.

In order to reach completion and opening of the Greenway Scheme there are many milestones to be achieved. The first of these is to submit a planning application. This will most likely be to An Bord Pleanála. The current programme indicates that a planning application can submitted by 2027. Beyond that timeframe, assuming that planning approval is achieved, it is not possible to be definitive on when construction of the Greenway Scheme would start as this would be subject to available funding at that time.