A TRALEE Municipal Councillor has expressed her frustration at the lack of progress on a proposed ‘Blueway’ from Tralee to Fenit, which would transform tourism in the area.

Speaking at the Tralee MD meeting on Monday, Sinn Féin Cllr Deirdre Ferris said a local businessman put forward his submission to the Council over two and a half years ago to establish the ‘Blueway’ from Tralee Bay to Fenit, which would tie in with the Tralee to Fenit Greenway.

The blueway would be an area where swimming, kayaking and other water activities could take place from the canal to Fenit and beyond.

However, nothing has been done to move the project along and she asked the Council to clarify their position on it and what has been done to establish a source of funding for the proposal.

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Cllr Ferris said this project is a prime example on how they can further adventure tourism in north Kerry, which she said has always been the poor cousin of south Kerry when it came to the promotion of tourism in the county.

In reply, the Council said they have recently sought funding approval through the Urban Regeneration Development Fund to begin this process by undertaking an extensive engineering survey of the entire circa 2.5km length of the Canal and prepare designs and a plan to enable its use as a safe and healthy Blueway that achieves blue flag status and provides a dynamic link to Tralee Bay.

Tralee Municipal District Manager Michael Scannell said there are significant structural issues in relation to the canal and a detailed survey of the canal was required. He said it was dredged a number of years ago but has since re-silted over.

He said there is significant investment needed to bring the canal up to the standard required to host such water activities associated with the Blueway.