South Down reps have reacted to a shock leapfrog move for the failed Newcastle Mourne Gateway project over to the nearby village of Rostrevor.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday (May 28), Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) said it was working to see if the gondola element could be built at Kilbroney Forest Park.
The new location has been born out from NMDDC councillors and management holding a wave of emergency meetings after landowners, the National Trust collapsed the Mourne Gateway project earlier this month.
Related: NMD Council considering bringing controversial gondola project to Kilbroney Forest Park
Elected reps from the district electoral area of Crotlieve spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) amid a scramble by the local authority to save a £30m funding pot from the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) .
Sinn Fein councillors did not respond, though the party has welcomed the Kilbroney proposal with South Down MLA Sinead Ennis releasing a statement.
She said: “This would be a game changer for South Down, helping to unlock the full tourism potential of Kilbroney Forest Park. Sinn Féin is ambitious for Kilbroney, we want to work with others to build on its well-established popularity and ensure it continues to thrive as a destination for locals and visitors alike.
“I believe that with the right investment Kilbroney Park could become the number one adventure tourism destination on the island of Ireland.”
NMDDC’s statement reads: “Following the announcement by the National Trust to refuse a lease of lands at Slieve Donard for the development of the Mourne Mountains Gateway project, the council is actively working with all partners to secure the £30million Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) investment in the Newry, Mourne and Down district area”.
The statement added: “Having considered project options as submitted to the council against the BRCD aims and objectives, NMDDC, with the full agreement of its BRCD partners, is now actively exploring a proposal to deliver the Mourne Mountains Gateway project in Kilbroney Forest Park.”
The Mourne Gateway project was expected to cost £44 million, with £30 million coming from the BRCD and the remainder from NMDDC.
Council chiefs and some elected reps in the area had been concerned that the BRCD money could be lost if the project did not proceed.
However, other elected members of the DEA have raised caution and concerns on the fast paced move to Kilbroney Park located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
SDLP cllr Declan McAteer said: “The SDLP is clear, no decision on the gondola project at Kilbroney Park should be made without meaningful consultation with the local community.
“This must be a transparent process that takes into account environmental assessments, public engagement and the long-term impact, whether positive or negative, of this proposal.”
Independent cllr, Jarlath Tinnelly added: “I recognise that council officials are under serious pressure to try and retain this £30 million BRCD money within the district and as such I am willing to wait on the details to see what this proposal actually entails.
“However, it goes without saying there are massive environmental and infrastructural challenges both on site and on the roads leading to Kilbroney park, which will utterly and permanently change the character of not only my own village of Rostrevor, but also the neighbouring towns and villages.”
He added: “Within Kilbroney my priority and the priority of the people I represent remains provision of fit for purpose playing facilities for the youth of our village. A project I have led and championed for the past eight years, the application has recently entered its fifth year and as a local councillor it is inconceivable that any new proposals within Kilbroney are potentially progressed before the pitches are passed and delivered.”
