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Blow for Mournes Gondola plans after National Trust raises concerns

Cormac Campbell
BBC News NI south east reporter
Newry Mourne and Down Council An artisit impression of the centre perched on the side of the hill. The building is silver with large viewing windows and is on stilts. Newry Mourne and Down Council
The visitor centre would include a restaurant, interpretive centre and other facilities

Plans for a 1km (0.6mile) long cable car ascending Slieve Donard have taken a major blow after the National Trust - one of the landowners on the mountain - said it would be pausing engagement with the local council behind the project.

This, the Trust said, is until it receives robust and comprehensive environmental assessments on the proposals.

The news will come as a major blow to Newry, Mourne and Down Council who hoped the facility would be operational by 2029.

BBC News NI has contacted the council for comment.

Newry Mourne and Down Council An artisit impression of the centre perched on the side of the hill. The building is silver with large viewing windows and is on stilts. Gondolas are on a run into the building. They are glass pods on a wire.Newry Mourne and Down Council
Gondolas would take visitors up to a visitor centre in the Mournes

The Mournes Gateway Project, better known as the Mourne Gondola, is a cable car ride that would ascend some 230m from Donard Park in Newcastle to the disused Thomas Quarry on Slieve Donard.

The quarry sits just above the treeline on Northern Ireland's highest peak and is owned by the National Trust.

Newry Mourne and Down Council An artisit impression of the centre perched on the side of the hill. The building is silver with large viewing windows and is on stilts. Newry Mourne and Down Council
There has been a mixed response to the idea

The project is expected to cost £44m, with £30m coming from the Belfast Region City Deal and the remainder from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

During its development, it has had a mixed response with positivity from many in the local business community and opposition from others, including environmentalists.

In December last year a petition of nearly 6,000 objections was presented at the Assembly. Following that the Council promised a series of engagement events.

First reported by the Irish News, on Tuesday, the National Trust has said that it is "pausing engagement" with the council behind the project.

A man with white hair wearing a grey jumper looking at the camera. He is standing in a grassy field with some picnic benches. Some trees and then mountains in the background
Andy Carden said the process of consulting on the project has been "poor"

Andy Carden was the man behind the petition objecting to the project and also sits on the stakeholder group.

"I can't speak on behalf of the other stakeholders, but my impression has been that the process has been poor," he told BBC News NI.

"Most of the stakeholders probably want to talk about the fundamental issues about building a visitors' centre in the quarry on the mountain.

"Instead it feels like a tick box exercise discussing minor parts of the issue."

Newry, Mourne and Down Council had hoped the facility could be open by 2029.

BBC News NI have asked the council where Tuesday's developments leave the project.

Trust needs 'robust and comprehensive environmental assessments'

Getty Images The Mourne Mountains with the six main peaks shown here including Slieve Donard the highest at 849 metres. They are seen from Murlough as accessed from the National Trust car park and the National Nature Reserve and what a beach it is. Getty Images
The National Trust says it wants to see assessments done

The Trust's statement said: "In the spirit of our Memorandum of Understanding, we remain open to engage with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) and key stakeholders.

"Despite not being directly involved in the project development, we have engaged throughout, sharing our own environmental data on the area, including information on ongoing efforts to restore the fragile upland habitats and maintain existing paths.

"Our strategy prioritises nature restoration and looking after wildlife, historic places, and landscapes and, as a conservation charity, we need to prioritise where we use our resources towards our core conservation objectives.

"We have consistently stated the need for robust and comprehensive environmental assessments and until we receive this, we are pausing our engagement at this time."