Sinn Féin councillor and chairperson of Smart Travel Castlebar Thérèse Ruane has welcomed the support of Coillte for developing Rehins Wood as a public amenity for Castlebar and Islandeady.
Cllr Ruane said: "It's more than a year since my proposal to approach Coillte to explore the possibility of developing Rehins Woods as a public amenity for the town was unanimously backed by members of Castlebar Town Council. A number of meetings have taken place and Coillte have fully supported this proposal. This is very welcome and builds on their commitment to developing woodlands as a public amenity. Woodlands owned by Coillte have been developed in many other towns and locations throughout the county such as Belleek Wood, Ballina, Brackloon Wood, Westport, Drummin Wood, Pontoon, Westport, and Moorehall.
“Now, here in Castlebar, we can move forward on this and develop a plan to deliver this project. I am confident that the necessary funding for this very worthwhile project can be sourced through the Neighbourwood Scheme, Leader and other sources. Every effort will go into ensuring that this project progresses to fruition as soon as possible.
Rehins Wood in Islandeady is within two miles of Castlebar and will flank the newly approved greenway linking Castlebar to the Great Western Greenway. The next step is to link Castlebar to Turlough, the Museum of Country Life. All these developments will change the face of Castlebar as a tourist destination while providing badly needed public recreational amenities for the people of the town."
