Council ‘keen to upgrade footpath’ in Streamstown

A recent local authority meeting was told that Westmeath County Council are “keen to upgrade footpaths” in Streamstown given its strategic location on the greenway.

Responding to a motion from Cllr Tom Farrell, who called on the council to examine the possibility of upgrading the path between the greenway and the village, director of services, Barry Kehoe, agreed that the gravel footpath needs an upgrade.

“Streamstown punches above its weight in terms of community support and we would be keen to upgrade the footpath in question,” said Mr Kehoe, who added that “anything we can do in this regard, we will do.”

He did not, however, necessarily agree that consideration of the upgrade under the Active Travel Scheme was the best place to start, and pointed out that Streamstown is in the Clár area.

Municipal District mayor, Cllr Vinny McCormack, who spoke in favour of the motion, said he would “support any measure” that would result in an upgrade to the old gravel footpath and felt it would be “a no brainer” under the Active Travel Scheme, while Cllr Louise Heavin of the Green Party, who also supported the motion, said if any maintenance needed to be carried out on the footpath “it should be actioned immediately”.

Cllr John Dolan, who moved the motion on behalf of his Fine Gael colleague, Cllr Tom Farrell, said the cost outlay “would be minimal compared to the benefits” that would accrue by upgrading the path.

In their written response to the motion, Westmeath County Council pledged to continue to “seek to identify funding sources for additional improvements through the various streams as opportunities arise” and acknowledged the great work carried out to date by the “local voluntary effort” of Streamstown Tidy Village group.