Tollymore National Outdoor Centre is set to be hit with redundancies and will remain unopened for most of the next year, it has been revealed. In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, Sport NI confirmed that the Bryansford facility’s current operating model is “no longer financially sustainable” and that a strategic review of its operations is now under way. It was highlighted that the centre has been “closed since its forest trails, trees and outdoor facilities were seriously damaged by Storm Éowyn earlier this year”.
“Significant expenditure would be required to safely reopen the facility,” the statement continued. “However, it has become increasingly unsustainable financially in recent years. Tollymore National Outdoor Centre will remain closed while the strategic review is completed. The review will explore all options for the future operating model of the centre. In the meantime, the move will result in a small number of local redundancies.”
Richard Archibald, Sport NI interim chief executive, stated that, “in recent years, the running costs of Tollymore National Outdoor Centre have steadily increased, and its income has reduced. In the last financial year, it cost over £1.3m to run, versus an income of around £250,000,” he added. “While the centre was never intended to be profit-making, we have a duty to ensure value for money for the public purse and for the whole sports sector. The current operating model for the National Outdoor Centre is no longer financially sustainable. The enforced pause in bookings, resulting from the extensive storm damage, provided a window for a detailed strategic review of the centre.”
The chief executive highlighted that “the initial part of this review – a health and safety audit – has concluded that the centre could not reopen without major investment.” “We cannot justify such investment when the facility is significantly underutilised,” he continued. “This strategic review will now thoroughly scrutinise the operating model, costs and potential return on investment from the centre. Through broad consultation, it will also examine the needs of the wider outdoor sector here. We want to ensure that our national facility meets the needs of its users, that it is operating in a way that unlocks greater return on the investment from the public purse and that it will be fit for purpose long into the future.”
Early work on the strategic review, which is expected to take “up to a year to complete,” involves engagement and consultation with key outdoor organisations and other stakeholders. “With the extended closure of up to a year and having explored other options, very regrettably, we have now commenced redundancy consultations with some of the centre’s permanent staff,” Mr. Archibald concluded. “Sport NI remains fully committed to the outdoors sector. The Tollymore Centre has facilities which are unique on the island of Ireland, and it is an important part of Northern Ireland’s outdoor activity offering. Its staff have played a significant role in the sector today – it has been a vital training ground for instructors, coaches and teachers, and it provides inspirational outdoor experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds every year. This strategic review will look at a wide range of options aimed at reimagining the role and function of Tollymore in a financially sustainable way and ensuring it continues to develop our outdoors sector in an impactful and effective way.”
In a party statement, local SDLP representatives Colin McGrath MLA and Cllr Laura Devlin (Mournes) both expressed “deep concern” about the announcement and criticised “the lack of transparency, the threat to local jobs and the absence of any meaningful commitment to retaining a publicly funded outdoor facility in South Down.” “Tollymore is not just a building in the Mournes but a public asset that has shaped generations of outdoor instructors, community groups and schools,” said Mr. McGrath. “The suggestion that this facility may not return in its current form is deeply worrying. While it’s understandable that the storm damage has created real challenges, it is simply not good enough to use this as cover for a removal of public provision. There is no clarity around what this review really means, no community involvement, and no commitment to replacing or restoring services in the meantime. We need to protect this centre, which is the only one of its kind on this island. The SDLP will fight to protect these jobs, preserve essential outdoor learning opportunities and ensure that South Down is not quietly stripped of yet another vital facility, and I will be raising this matter with the Minister for Communities (Gordon Lyons) with urgency.”
Cllr Devlin added: “This centre is part of the social and economic fabric of the Mournes. Its loss would not only impact those who work there, but the many groups who depend on it – from youth organisations to disability groups and tourists. We need honesty from Sport NI. We need to know if this is a genuine consultation or a closure plan dressed up as a review. The local community deserves better than silence and spin.”
In June, the local representatives highlighted that there was “growing concern in the local community that the centre may be facing closure.”
To read the digital edition, download the Mourne Observer app – for apple click here – for android click here
