‘Time and space’ needed to consider cable car options

9 July 2025

A STORMONT minister has said it is important the Belfast Region City Deal and its partners “take time and space” to consider options for replacing the failed gondola ride into the Mournes.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council has switched attention from the Mournes to Kilbroney Forest Park in Rostrevor to deliver what is being billed as a “flagship tourism project”.

But the proposal is also being criticised.

The local authority was forced to seek an alternative location for the controversial cable car ride after the National Trust refused to make its land in the Mournes available for the £44m Mournes Gateway Project.

At the heart of the Newcastle proposal was a cable car ride from a base station in Donard Park to a new visitor centre at the site of a disused quarry at Thomas’s Mountain.

The Newcastle proposal was at the core of the Gateway Project which was being financed by the Belfast Region City Deal (£30m) and local ratepayers who were being asked to contribute £14m.

In the wake of the National Trust decision, the local authority dramatically switched attention to the forest park in Rostrevor — a decision taken without public consultation.

Within hours of the announcement, an online petition opposing the plan was launched with those opposed to the Rostrevor gondola plan describing it as a “last minute switch” and a decision which “smacks of desperation from a handful of council officials”.

The future of the £30m City Deal funding was raised at the Assembly last week by South Down MLA Diane Forsythe, who quizzed Stormont Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald.

Ms Forsythe said the funding was awarded to deliver a world class tourist attraction in the Mourne Mountains and said Newcastle and the Mournes have lost out on so many projects and events like the Festival of Flight and the proposed velodrome in years gone by.

She said the City Deal funding cannot be lost to the Mournes, expressing frustration with the local council for “repeatedly diminishing the Mourne mountains and the Mournes area for tourism”.

Ms Forsythe asked Ms Archibald will she remain committed to keeping the £30m allocated through the City Deal for a tourist attraction in the Mournes given that the Department of the Economy is one of the key players.

The minister said she recognised the importance of the Mournes as a tourism attraction.

“It’s a really important asset that we do have locally and it adds to the collective assets that we are really lucky to have as part of our portfolio and that I as Minister responsible for tourism have the ability and pleasure of being able to sell and the opportunities for people to visit,” she said.

“What we have done in the first instance is give the space to the BRCD and the partners within to bring forward proposals and I’m happy to engage with them as they do that.”

Ms Archibald said she believes it’s important they do take the time and space to consider the opportunities and the options available in front of them and how best to utilise the funding that they have.

“I know the case has certainly been made that the funding should stay within the Newry, Mourne and Down district and if that is the wish of the BRCD group then it’s something I’m happy to support,” she added.

While opponents of the Kilbroney proposal have described it as “white elephant” that posed a risk to the environment and “may well see millions of pounds squandered”, the local authority says it is “exploring a transformative visitor experience at Kilbroney Forest Park”.

The council insists that having considered project options submitted to the organisation against the City Deal aims and objectives it is now, with the full agreement of its City Deal partners, “actively exploring” a proposal to deliver the Mourne Mountains Gateway project in Kilbroney Forest Park.

The local authority says the initiative would create a “compelling tourism offering in the district, while also encouraging visitors to continue their journeys into the heart of the Mournes and beyond.”

And council officials insist “environmental sensitivity” will continue to be a core principle of the proposal and confirmed while the cable car route is yet to be determined, it will not pass through an ancient oak woodland, with the proposed development carried out in a sustainable manner that protects the park’s natural assets.

Last week, a recently formed online Council Watch group revealed a comprehensive report has identified “regulatory hurdles and environmental considerations” for the proposed Kilbroney gondola.

The 22-page report says the ancient Rostrevor Oakwood, containing trees over 250 years old, carries Special Area of Conservation status, with the entire project area falling within the Mourne Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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