By Ryan Sands
The future of £30m of Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) funding allocated to the controversial Mourne Mountains Gateway Project remains unclear. The National Trust signalled the death knell of the project – which had a total budget of £44m – on Thursday with its announcement that it will not be providing a facilitatory lease that could have seen gondolas travelling to a visitor centre at Thomas’s Quarry.
The council immediately voiced their disappointment and frustration at this decision, and, at last night’s (Tuesday) monthly meeting, an Alliance proposal to explore “viable and sustainable alternative proposals to the gondola element of the project” was set to be discussed.
The Department for the Economy has confirmed that any alternative use for the funds would have to be agreed by BRCD partners, which includes five other councils. Nineteen other projects within six districts have been allocated funding from an overall pot of £1bn.
The council was asked if over £2m allocated to the project in its Capital Programme 2024-31 for the last two financial years had been spent; however, it responded that “no further comment can be provided at this time”.
Read the full report in the current issue.
