Tourism Potential in Ulster Canal
Publish Date: Friday, 01 September 2006
The re-development of the Ulster Canal could bring potential economic benefits of up to £18million per annum to the Irish Cross Border Tourism industry, according to a new study by the Blackwater Regional Partnership.
In June 2004, the Blackwater Regional Partnership was awarded funding of £822,187 through the Interreg IIIA programme managed for the Special EU Programmes Body by the ICBAN partnership for the Blackwater Natural Resource Tourism Project. As a result, a socio economic study was carried out to identify potential economic benefits associated with the re-opening of the canal.
The results of this extensive report, commissioned by the Blackwater Regional Partnership and conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, were announced today at Parliament Buildings, Belfast to an audience, which included MLAs Dominic Bradley, Jeffrey Donaldson, Danny Kennedy and Pat O'Rawe.
"Twelve indicative development sites have been identified along the route of the canal, which opens the doors for unique cross border visitor attractions and approximately 300 jobs per year," says Councillor Phelim Gildernew, Chairman of Blackwater Regional Partnership. "New housing and ancillary business provision and an increased demand for accommodation and hospitality could lead to a boom in the tourism industry by tapping further into the market of activity breaks as witnessed by similar canal regeneration projects undertaken across the UK and Ireland.
There is clear support from the travel trade for the re-opening of the Ulster Canal on the grounds that it would extend Ireland's inland waterways system and offer greater choice to the customer."
The Ulster Canal is 6 metres wide and approximately 93 kilometres long, and runs from Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland through Monaghan, Smithborough and Clones in the Republic of Ireland to join up with the Erne Shannon Navigation. Since the 1930's the canal has fallen into various states of disrepair.
The re-opening of the canal has the potential to encourage cross community and cross border working, to attract private sector investment and to stimulate existing commercial concerns. An action plan has been developed to consider the way forward for the Ulster Canal, which includes the restoration of the canal by Waterways Ireland and the regeneration of the six-mile canal corridor.
Further discussion with the various stakeholders will identify partnership opportunities and private sector investment to source funding for the development, with costs estimating £125million, and the possible creation of a separate body to ensure that potential economic regeneration opportunities are secured.
