Council to cover £2.4m greenway overspend

The Carlingford Lough Greenway opened in 2018 along the scenic edge of the Newry Ship Canal and Clanrye River. NMDDC recently signed off on a 1km extension of the public path continuing from Victoria Lock to Carlingford.

The council’s ERT committee approved recommendations on Monday night, “to underwrite any spend over the approved funding envelope, subject to business case and funding approval through relevant committee”.

Elected members signed off on the recommendation with no questions raised in chambers on the potential financial impact for ratepayers.

The overall costings on the north side of the border will be jointly funded from the Department for Infrastructure and the Special EU Programmes Body. NMDDC has an existing allocation of £40k under its capital estimates. A procurement process has been engaged for the remaining section of the greenway with works planned to be completed by mid-2024.