Good work could be undone by latest cuts

Good work could be undone by latest cuts

1 April 2015

THE first Irishman to scale the summit of Mount Everest has warned that the district’s popular walking trails are at risk as the Department of Environment struggles to meet its new budget.

Dawson Stelfox, who conquered  Mount Everest in 1993, is now chairman of Outdoor Recreation NI (ORNI), which is responsible for developing and promoting outdoor activities in Northern Ireland.

Outdoor Recreation, which has recently developed walking and biking trails in Crossgar and Castlewellan, has learnt it will lose all of its £120,000 funding allocated by the DoE as Environment Minister Mark Durkan aims too cut his incoming budget by £12.4m.

Mr Stelfox said the cuts would come at a crucial time for the development of the local walking and biking trails.

By affecting the organisation’s core funding, he said it would inhibit its ability to employ staff who would in turn work to secure additional funding. As ORNI also provides insurance for walking trails across Northern Ireland, he said public access to these paths would be affected.

He said increasingly large numbers of people were using the trails, which had a positive knock-on effect for local businesses including cafes and restaurants.

“These trails are starting to take off and it is the wrong time to pull the plug,” he said.

“Visitors need managed and need to be given good information about where they can and cannot go.

“Outdoor recreation generates huge economic benefits, particularly for rural communities.

“In addition there is indisputable evidence that taking past in physical activities in an outdoor environment has huge potential to enhance mental wellbeing and physical health.”