Plans for a new footbridge Lifford and Strabane are being delayed by agencies south of the border, the Sunday Independent has reported.
Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council have joined forces in a bid to create a 30-acre park linking Strabane in Northern Ireland and Lifford in the Republic.
However, a proposal to build a footbridge across the River Foyle to connect the two banks could be in jeopardy over the delay in obtaining a required “foreshore licence” on the Donegal side.
A spokesperson for one of the councils admitted there had been “some unforeseeable project challenges” with the so-called Riverine Project, but said they were working to resolve the issues involved.
When details were first launched in 2019, the project was described as one which would unite communities and bridge religious and political divides. Strabane is a mainly nationalist town, while parts of east Donegal around Lifford are home to Protestant communities.
The European Union has pledged €9 million to develop the park and bridge, with additional funding coming from the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland and Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.
As well as the proposed bridge, the Riverine site will also contain play parks, a community hub, an outdoor space for events and concerts, and an environmental wetland area.
Donegal is the lead partner of the project but when contacted on Friday about the problems around the bridge, no one from the council would comment.
A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said they were working with their counterparts in Donegal to bring forward the “hugely important cross-border regeneration project for the Lifford and Strabane area”.
“Both councils are committed to seeing the project delivered in its entirety as soon as possible,” they said.
“There have been some unforeseeable project challenges in obtaining some statutory approvals relating to the project, including planning permission, due to operational issues within An Bord Pleanála and in obtaining a foreshore licence from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in Dublin which are currently impacting on the timing of the delivery of the bridge element of the project.
“Donegal County Council together with Derry City and Strabane District Council is working with the main project funder SEUPB [The Special EU Programmes Body] and support government departments to discuss these issues and agree an appropriate way forward.”
According to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s website, a foreshore licence is issued for a development that “does not require exclusive occupation of the foreshore”.
As well as the construction of a bridge, other examples for which a licence is required would include repair work, coastal protection work, undersea pipelines, cables, site investigation works, dredging works and harvesting of wild seaweed.
It is understood a number of meetings involving council officials and councillors in Derry and Donegal were held last week to discuss the problems around the project.
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