VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE LETS MAKE OUR VOICE HEARD IN THE NORTH WEST
There is a very important development taking place which everyone needs to be aware of. The North West Regional Assembly is a body made up of representatives from the County Councils of the region from Galway to Donegal and it decides strategic planning policy for our region. Every ten years that policy is reviewed and such a review is underway right now. If we want our Western Rail Trail to become part of that policy, everyone of us needs to make our voice heard.
So here is what you need to do folks....and it’s very simple. Just click on the following link and copy and paste the text in my comment below this post into the “Submission” box. Add your name and email address and you’re done. It takes two minutes. Or you can email submissions to rses@nwra.ie
Send this email today or post it in the submissions box on https://www.nwra.ie/rses/
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I am making a submission in relation to the RSES draft report. It is clear that Objectives 115 (a) and 115 (b) of the draft plan need to be removed as they clearly contravene the National Development Plan. Both objectives 115 (a) and 115 (b) are presumptive of the outcome of the Western Rail Corridor Review of the closed railway line that is currently being undertaken by the DTTAS as part of the Ireland 2040 National Development Plan. It is not within the remit of the Regional Spatial Economic Strategies to assume the outcome of the rail review. Objectives 115 (a) and objective 115 (b) contradict the Ireland 2040 National Development Plan which only facilitates a review of the line from Athenry to Claremorris and does not include the line north of Claremorris. Until this review is completed no assumptions can be made about the closed railway line ever being re-opened and to make such a sweeping assumption and build it into a Regional Strategy would be contrary to the National Development Plan. I suggest that objectives 115 (a) and (b) be reworded so they do not contravene the National Development plan and instead include the following text;
Revision of objectives 115 (a) and 115 (b): If the outcome of the Western Rail Corridor Review from Athenry to Claremorris indicates that the closed railway is unlikely to be re-opened before 2030, then the closed railway shall be considered for alternative uses, for example such as a greenway, until such time as a railway might be possible, in order to protect the route in public ownership. Such alternative usage of the closed railway route would be under a strict licensing arrangement with Irish Rail that if needed for railway in the future then railway will take precedence at that time.”
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End of email provide your email address and name. Please we are trying to get as many submissions as possible in.