Ards Forest Park is among the top ten most visited Coillte-owned recreational facilities in Ireland. Last year, it received 45,195 visitors who enjoyed the beautiful walks and facilities there. Rossmore Forest Park, Co Monaghan, was the most popular with 357,834.
However, Ards did not receive any share of the almost €1 million in funding handed out this year for capital projects. Instead, it was one of 13 Donegal forests who will benefit from a combined maintenance works allocation of nearly €119,000. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, today announced funding of €3 million to develop and upgrade visitor and recreational amenities at Coillte Forest Parks across Ireland.
The investment is part of a strategic partnership between the Department of Rural and Community Development and Coillte to maintain and manage existing trails in Coillte forests, and to develop new recreation opportunities. The funding will be used to deliver a range of projects such as new walking trails, car park improvements, installation of footbridges and new toilet facilities. Full details of the €3m funding being allocated to projects for 2024 are available here .
Minister Humphreys also today launched the report of the 2023 programme of investment which sets out the projects and outcomes from the investment provided to Coillte in 2023. This report can be found here ..
