Alliance councillor defends party’s position on gondola

Alliance councillor defends party’s position on gondola

1 October 2025

MOURNES Alliance councillor Jill Truesdale said her party was always clear that the City Deal funding could be used for other projects of significance, but very aware they had to fall into the “strict criteria of the tourism pillar”.

Responding to Cllr Clark’s claims, she argued this was the opposite of what Sinn Fein and others were doing by telling constituents in the run-up to the last council election that it was “a gondola or nothing”.

Cllr Truesdale said Cllr Clarke’s claims about Alliance were “obviously deflecting from this fact”.

She said her party understood how the Belfast Region City Deal had to work and that the difficulty came when the public was asked for ideas by a previous council chairman “without knowing the criteria” under which the funding operated.

“At a recent workshop meeting regarding realignment of BRCD money, Alliance put forward a proposal for a series of district-wide linked projects to enhance tourism, spreading the economic gain and stopping the build-up of honey pot sites and areas with poor infrastructure,”she continued.

“At this same workshop, we were shown why projects such as the Rock Pool and new Newcastle leisure centre did not fit the criteria, something Alliance already knew.”

Cllr Truesdale said it was important to remember that all councillors — except Alliance —signed off on a £14m additional ratepayer spend on top of the burgeoning gondola budget which was already exceeding the £27.75m BRCD money.

“This 'signed off extra money' could well have been used for important projects such as the Rock Pool and a full-sized leisure centre in Newcastle,” she added.