Donegal County Council scored a double success last night (Thursday 6th November) at the prestigious Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dublin. The awards ceremony was hosted by RTE’s Mary Kennedy and attended by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, T.D.
The County Council won its first award of the evening under the category of Sports and Recreation for its community-based recreational trails project based in Crolly, West Donegal. The project was developed in association with Failte Ireland and has provided for 8km of safe walking for the local community and tourists alike. The County Council’s Walking and Trails Development Officer engaged with local community stakeholders to identify potential recreational walking routes in the Crolly area. The initiative is part of Donegal Council’s broader commitment to providing safe and sustainable walking infrastructure and forms an integral part of the County Walking Strategy.
Accepting the award, Mayor of County Donegal, Cllr. Gerry Crawford commented, “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf Donegal County Council. This award is recognition of the hard work and commitment of the local community, Failte Ireland and County Council officials in the development of this valuable piece of community and tourist infrastructure. The County is blessed with a rich variety of natural resources from beaches to mountains, rivers and lakes, therefore the creation of high-quality walking infrastructure must be a priority for the successful development of the tourism industry in Donegal”.
The second award of the night was scooped by the Inch Levels Development project under the Environment Initiative category. The Inch Levels initiative is an environmental tourism and community-based project at Inch, Inishowen. The Inch site is one Europe’s premier bird viewing areas and provides feeding for internationally significant numbers of Greenland White-fronted Geese and Whooper Swans. The project is a result of collaboration between Donegal County Development Board partners National Parks and Wildlife Service, Failte Ireland and Donegal County Council, as well as private-sector involvement through Donegal Creameries. Over the past 4 years the area has been transformed with the development of 8km of walkways on the perimeter of Inch Lake, installation of bird viewing areas, upgrading of access roads, construction of car parking facilities at key access points and the creation of a woodland education zone for school groups, families and general users alike. The key stakeholders have contributed to a total investment of over €700,000 in this period.
Accepting the award, Chairperson of Donegal County Development Board, Cllr. Francis Conaghan added, “The Inch project is a project I am very proud to be involved with as it is an excellent example of how a partnership approach to development and enterprise can lead to sustainability and success. I would like to pay tribute to Donegal County Development Board partners National Parks and Wildlife Service, Failte Ireland, Donegal Creameries and Donegal County Council for the hard work and vision shown in the Inch Levels initiative. Alongside the work of the local community, all partners have played a valuable role in the development of one of the Country’s most stunning and interesting places to visit.”
The Inch Levels Project is part of Donegal County Council’s wider Tourism Product Development strategy aimed at providing sustainable tourism infrastructure that satisfies the need of local communities whilst servicing the economic needs of the entire County.
For further info please contact Kevin O’Connor, Donegal County Council by email: kevin.oconnor@donegalcoco.ie or telephone: 0872589723.