The Department for Infrastructure has announced a four-week public consultation on the Newry Inner City Greenway, one of six “signature” active travel schemes being progressed across Northern Ireland. The early engagement exercise opens on 8 October 2026, inviting residents to help shape a proposed walking, wheeling and cycling route through Newry city centre.
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said the scheme would “improve connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists through Newry by providing safer, more accessible and attractive active travel infrastructure, linking communities with key destinations and encouraging healthier and more sustainable travel choices.” However, the announcement leaves significant questions unanswered about the route, cost, and delivery timeline.
What is being proposed
The Newry Inner City Greenway is intended to create a continuous active travel corridor connecting the recently completed Newry to Carlingford Greenway with the Newry Canal towpath to Portadown. According to the Department, this will close a “missing link” in the active travel network through the city centre.
The scheme forms part of a wider £80 million programme of six “Active Travel Signature Schemes” announced in November 2024. These projects—totalling approximately 40km—were selected for their potential to deliver connectivity between settlements or key destinations. The six schemes are:
- Sydenham Greenway
- Maydown to Campsie
- Black Paths extension to Portadown railway station
- Newry Inner City Greenway
- Bellarena to Bishop’s Gate
- Coleraine to Portstewart
Minister Kimmins, speaking at the January 2026 announcement of the broader programme, said: “I recently had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Newry to Carlingford Greenway which is enjoyed by many people and I heard about the many benefits the scheme brings for the local community and for tourism. Progression of the Newry Inner City Greenway project will complement that further by connecting the newly completed Greenway to the Newry Canal towpath to Portadown.”
She added: “I am committed to providing cleaner and greener travel options for people. Active travel is good for the environment and can help to improve the health and wellbeing for those who choose to walk, wheel or cycle for some of their shorter everyday journeys. These six significant active travel schemes, with a combined length of 40km, are a tangible demonstration of that commitment.”
How to have your say
The Department is running a drop-in event at Newry Leisure Centre on Cecil Street on Thursday 8 October 2026 from 1pm to 7pm. Online feedback can be submitted from 9am on 8 October until 5pm on 5 November 2026 via the Department’s consultation page.
Feedback can also be provided by email to activetravel@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk, by phone on 028 9066 7914, or by post to DfI Active Travel at County Hall, Castlerock Road, Coleraine.
What’s missing from the announcement
The press release provides no detail on the proposed route through Newry, estimated cost for this specific scheme, or anticipated construction dates. The Department states only that “delivery of the six schemes will be subject to timing of satisfactory completion of all statutory processes and future budget availability.”
This caveat is significant. The Northern Ireland Audit Office reported in 2025 that the Department’s estimates for active travel investment “would require the Department to more than double the scale of its investment” from 2026-27 onwards to meet commitments. The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 mandates that at least 10% of transport budgets—equating to more than £80 million annually—must be spent on active travel by 2030. However, BBC News NI reported in February 2025, citing EIR request data, that the Department was spending approximately £12 million per year, and that the Active Travel Delivery Plan consultation was the ninth such exercise in a decade.
The consultation runs for 29 days. By comparison, the Coleraine to Portstewart Signature Scheme—another of the six projects—ran its early engagement for four weeks in May-June 2026, with a full public consultation anticipated for 2027. That scheme’s documentation indicates a five-year delivery timeline, with construction potentially starting in 2028 and completion by 2030.
Local context and previous work
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council adopted a 10-year Active Travel Masterplan in 2021, developed with Sustrans, which identified priorities for walking and cycling infrastructure across the district. The Newry to Carlingford Greenway, which opened in January 2026, provides a precedent for greenway development in the area.
The timing of this announcement comes amid heightened local attention to infrastructure needs. Minister Kimmins, who represents Newry and Armagh, told the Assembly’s Infrastructure Committee on 23 September 2026 that “the infrastructure to enable people in some rural areas to travel long distances ‘quickly’ for hospital services ‘simply isn’t there.'” She was responding to plans to temporarily move inpatient maternity services from Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry to Craigavon, and emphasised that “road schemes and new roads etc take a long time.”
Questions for consideration
- Given the Department’s record of nine consultations in ten years and spending well below statutory targets, what assurance can be given that this scheme will progress beyond the design phase?
- Will the specific route and cost estimates for the Newry scheme be published before any statutory consultation, or will these remain undefined until after this early engagement?
- How will the Department ensure that feedback from this brief consultation period properly informs route selection, particularly for communities that may be affected by land requirements?
- Given the “future budget availability” caveat, how will the Department balance competing infrastructure priorities?
- How will this scheme integrate with the council’s existing 2021 Active Travel Masterplan and other local transport priorities?
The consultation closes on 5 November 2026. The Department has indicated that “meaningful engagement with the public is key to delivering projects of this nature” and that preliminary proposals will be brought forward “once these have been suitably developed.”