A meeting between the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has resulted in joint opposition to a proposed greenway in the border region.

Both farm organisations have said they "strongly oppose" the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) Greenway, stating that landowner opposition should not be overruled by compulsory purchase orders or similar legal mechanisms.

The greenway project is proposed to run from Sligo to Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh, and has moved to 'phase 3', with the suitability of the chosen route now being tested.

However, both the IFA and the UFU say that no landowners in the vicinity support the project.

Commenting after the meeting between the farm organisations, UFU deputy president John McLenaghan said: "The UFU stands with farmers in their opposition to the SLNCR Greenway project and condemn any move to override the landowner opinion using vesting powers."

Vesting powers is a legal mechanism under UK law in which a court can allocate land in a certain way for certain purposes, similar to CPOs.

"This proposed corridor is unsuitable, as unanimously voiced by all affected landowners in the area at a recent meeting," McLeneghan said.

"It has the potential to divide large areas of farmland, uproot farmers who have worked hard to build their farm business, and to see large amounts of private property disrupted.

The project, which will see a greenway established along an old 75km railway line, has "created a great deal of anxiety among landowners in the area who foresee their livelihoods being disturbed", according to a joint statement from the two farm organisations.

"The UFU believes greenways should be done predominantly on public land to reduce the impact on private land, but this proposed project will largely affect private landowners and is to follow an abandoned railway route which most farmers have legally incorporated as part of their farm," McLenaghan said.

"A cross-border greenway is a positive move, but it must be executed in a fair way, taking into consideration the landowners and their rights, and we cannot condone the act of strong-arming landowners with a threat of vesting powers, particularly for amenities like these.

On the IFA side, the chairs of the association's Sligo and Leitrim county executives, Michael O' Dowd and Liam Gilligan respectively, both said that the organisation is opposed to any CPOs for amenity projects like greenways and also opposed to the severance of farms for greenways.

They said: "The impact of the proposed greenway on private farm lands and farming enterprises is very severe.

"Greenway projects like the SLNCR should maximise the use of public lands and minimise the impact on private lands, in line with the government strategy for the future development of greenways and the greenway Code of Best Practice.

"This is unacceptable and extremely challenging for the landowners," the IFA county chairs added.

The IFA reiterated the UFU point that the old railway line that forms the proposed route of the greenway is now part of farmed land.

"The reality is this is no longer a rail line and is now part of active farms, and may include houses and farmyards," the IFA said.

The IFA also drew attention to a number of other issue that may arise from the greenway project, including farm viability; severance; access issues; privacy; safety and security; anti-social behaviour; dogs; litter; animal disease; and environmental issues.

The IFA said it has met with both Sligo and Leitrim county councils, along with the consultancy firm that is involved in the design of the greenway, to outline "all of the issues and concerns of farmers regarding the proposed greenway".