Users of the Great Western Greenway have been pushed out onto the N59, a national secondary road with a 100km/h speed limit, for around a 200-metre section of the greenway between Westport and Newport after a farmer closed a shorter section outside of his farm.The section closed by the farmer amounts to around 40 or 50 metres, but because of fences and greenery in the way, detouring around the closed section involves using the main road for 200 metres. The greenway was built using permissive access, a system where landowners such as farmers retain ownership of the land. Over the years since the route was opened, similar closures have happened when landowners have had issues with the council, sometimes totally unrelated to the greenway. In this case, the farmer has reported an increase in conflicts with greenway users where the route crosses his driveway and farm access gate.This increase in conflicts came after the council installed new barrierssee the video below, which was taken by IrishCycle.com at the start of the year, focusing on the barriers being placed in locations where they are not recommended. Cllr Peter Flynn (Fine Gael), a Westport-based councillor, said before this latest closure over the weekend that the landowner contacted him and said that hes sick and tired of it, referring to incidents at the entrances to his house and farm.This is always the risk with permissive access, with the landowner fully entitled to close off his/her land without any need to notify the Council or anyone else, said Cllr Flynn. Ironically, every time this happens is with a stretch of greenway alongside the road where the farmer is trying to get their car, farm machinery or livestock across the greenway; it is a headache, unlike sections which are well away from the main road, he said.IMAGE: Video taken earlier this year before the closure. Cllr Flynn has been making the point about the risks of permissive access in relation to the planned Westport to Murrisk/Louisburgh greenway. This planned greenway on the other side of the bay has been delayed because of objections from some residents to the project. Cllr Flynn supports a route inland, while other councillors and some residents who are objecting to the route want the greenway built along the main road in the area.The new route is planned to be State-owned by agreement of sale with the landowners or via compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) where such is not possible. Issues like the current one and the ongoing resourcing costs of maintaining permission access agreements are why State bodies have said that there must be public ownership of any new regional and national greenways.Would you build a house or shed on someone elses land? That is what happens with permissive access when you are investing in infrastructure that can be shut down legitimately with no recourse, said Cllr Flynn.He added: The other side of permissive access is that the landowner misses out on any compensation, which is a shame when there is very generous compensation under the new TII approach. For farmers over 55, this compensation is generally tax-free. Yet some farming organisations, who are supposed to be represent small farmers, are against this approach; go figure that!