By Andy Balfour and Local Democracy Reporter,Andy Balfour, Local Democracy Reporter

Copyright northernirelandworld

At September’s Leisure and Development Committee meeting, members approved the advancement of negotiations with NI Water to secure agreement through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), allowing further development of the PEACEPLUS-funded Altnahinch Dam circular trail project. Members also approved plans to proceed to Stage 1 of the project – a scoping project and outline design. An accompanying officers’ report stated: “This MoU outlines the responsibilities of both parties throughout the design, development, implementation, and future management of the Altnahinch Dam Walk. “Council will assume full responsibility for the construction, maintenance, and management of any new path network… and NI Water will remain fully responsible for existing infrastructure maintenance and liability.” The report also included a proposed maintenance schedule for the walk, with an estimated annual cost of £15,065. Sinn Féin Councillor Maighréad Watson said there was a lot of excitement around the prospect of a walkway due to the “near non-existence in the area” and asked how the £15,065 figure compared to costs for other similar dust paths in the borough. “I’ve looked into a few of the projects in the past [like] Garvagh Forest, with a ten-kilometre path [that’s] on land not owned by council and is similar to this project, [so] how was this figure configured and by whom?” Head of Tourism and Recreation, Peter Thompson, responded: “It’s very difficult to make an assessment or an accurate assessment of what future maintenance costs are for a scheme like this. “Factors such as bad erosion, heavy usage by the public, vandalism, all these things affect the durability of the experience. The costing schedule is very much based on a worst-case scenario, whereby major refurbishment of that pathway is required. “Garvagh has a mixture of forest roadways and [eight kilometres of] dedicated mountain bike trails, eight times the size of what we’re proposing [at Altnahinch Dam], and we only spend between £10,000 and £11,000 [annually] on that significant trail network. “The figures are in the report are based on a worst-case scenario,” Mr Thompson reiterated. “In the first five years we would like to think that there would be no money spent in terms of general maintenance. “But we budget for those extraordinary circumstances where we have to allocate a full expenditure to ensure that the pathways are in good condition.”