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The National Trust, owners of the site that Newry, Mourne and Down District Council proposed to site their Mourne Mountains Gateway Project have announced that they will not be leasing the site following serious concerns about its potential environmental impact, seemingly making progress on one of the council's signature projects impossible in its current form.
The project for a Visitor Centre at Thomas Quarry in the Mournes, had a Gondola uplift from Donard Park and was expected to cost £44 million with £30m coming from the Belfast Region City Deal and £14m from Council.
The National Trust have informed Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Department for the Economy of their position on the matter. "We will continue to work with the Council and others to consider alternative projects with significantly less risk and environmental impact." a statement issued today 1 May said.
In the statement a National Trust spokesperson said "As a conservation charity and a key guardian of the Mournes, the National Trust is responsible for parts of the Eastern Mournes Special Area of Conservation including Slieve Donard (Northern Ireland's highest mountain) which includes Thomas’s Quarry – the proposed upper gondola station and visitor centre site. We have engaged in goodwill with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council on its proposal to build a gondola which would take visitors almost a third of the way up Donard Mountain.
"We have consistently expressed our serious concerns about the potential environmental impact of this proposed project as far back as eight years ago and encouraged other options to be considered. We have never endorsed the project and have not been a partner in its development."
The National Trust have a responsibility to restore nature in the Mournes, whilst balancing safe and sustainable access for people. Since 2021 the Trust's dedicated local team has been funded to put in place nature recovery measures following a substantial fire in the Eastern Mournes which reached the quarry site.
The statement continued "It is important to the National Trust that its review of any development proposal is evidence led. Therefore, we have engaged extensively with the Council and a wide range of stakeholders on this matter. Following assessment of the information available to us, including completion of environmental survey work set out in our recent ‘Donard Nature Recovery Report’ and other considerations such as use of public funds and community feedback, the National Trust believes that the proposed gondola project and visitor centre would risk placing additional pressures on already degraded upland habitats."
Confirming that the National Trust would not be leasing the site the National Trust Spokesperson added "With the known existing recreational and other pressures on the protected areas, as a conservation charity we cannot support a project of this scale that would be inviting substantial visitor numbers into fragile and threatened areas of the Mournes landscape and therefore we will not be considering a lease at Thomas’s Quarry."
The statement adds "Our recent report looks at the condition and recovery of National Trust land in the Eastern Mournes and makes clear that these fragile habitats are not in favourable condition. Recovery of both the habitat and the species in the Special Area of Conservation remains at an early stage but we believe that with continued favourable management habitat condition will improve.
"Over the last two years we have participated in a range of project stakeholder engagement sessions, and we have also been contacted directly by people from across the local community. This engagement has confirmed that local people share our concerns about the impact on the environment, the need for a robust assessment of alternative options for access to the Mournes and well-considered use of public funds."
