Ballincollig Regional Park attracted more than 660,000 visitors in 2018. Picture: Mike English

Start date for work to extend Ballincollig Regional Park

Work to extend Ballincollig Regional Park will begin this month and should be complete in July.

Cork County Council is opening a new section of the former Gunpowder Mills behind the former heritage centre to create a 1km riverside walk and cycleway.

The extension will link the park to the 20-acre amenity lands at Fionn Laoi.

The further expansion of the park is one of the final projects being undertaken by Cork County Council before it hands the park over to the City Council on June 1.

Work will start on May 20 and be completed in July.

Other developments include a bridge and a boardwalk. The proposed new route will run through the Gunpowder Mills complex at the eastern edge of the current park, running along the southern bank of the River Lee adjacent to Willow Court and then joining a planned, privately-developed amenity park at the Fionn Laoi estate.

Two pedestrian bridges are proposed in the project consisting of a 12-metre span over a dry canal, close to the eastern entrance to the existing park at Ballincollig GAA Club.

A new boardwalk structure will also be built to go around a riverside protected wall structure to connect the Gunpowder Mills complex to Willow Court.

Last week marked the final contract signing by Cork County Council for improvement works that will be carried out by Sole Sports & Leisure Ltd.

Ballincollig Regional Park is one of the most popular public amenities in the country.

A former gunpowder mill, the park is dotted with trails, canals and historic buildings.

Cork County Council acquired the park in 1977 and it has been significantly developed since then.

The park attracted more than 660,000 visitors last year.

There are long term plans to extend the Lee Fields in Cork city in a westward direction with ultimate plans for a connected greenway between Ballincollig and the city centre.