THE Mourne Mountain Rescue Team is asking the public to help secure its courageous volunteers a much-needed new base in the heart of Newcastle.
The local charity has said they need the community’s “urgent help with a big grant application”. The rescue team is currently fundraising to build a new base at the foot of Slieve Donard. It is due to be located within the site of the former St Mary’s Girls’ Primary School, which is now owned by Lidl. The retailer plans to develop a new superstore there, with a section of the land set aside for a new base for the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team. Team members are now calling on locals to complete a short online survey, as well as submitting a letter of support, for the charity’s intrinsic role in the community. They add that “the more responses the better”. The team, established in 1962, says having new purpose-built facilities would bring a number of benefits. It adds that the proposed building on the former school site, and which adjoins Donard Park, would be “a purpose-built structure with a layout and facilities that will improve the efficiency of the team,” something which is not available at its present South Promenade base. The site’s close proximity to the Mournes would allow callouts to be dealt with quickly. The team also points out that when search and rescue helicopters are deployed to their rescues, Donard Park is routinely used as a landing site. They add that new premises would allow their emergency response vehicles to be stored indoors, therefore reducing maintenance costs. A purpose-built base would also be more amenable for open days and events which would be used to educate the public on safety issues in mountainous environments.
The team consists entirely of volunteers, who are on call 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and comes to the aid of persons injured, or in danger of injury. Primarily, it responds to incidents across the Mournes, Slieve Croob and Slieve Gullion. “Due to continued growth and development, the team now need to secure a new base that will cater for all aspects of their operations,” a spokesperson for the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team (MMRT) explained. “The team are proposing to construct a new purpose-built base in Newcastle that would further support rescue co-ordination, volunteer training and education of the public in the safe use of the Mournes. “The new base would include storage of all vehicles and equipment indoors and space outdoors for parking for team members’ vehicles. Having such a facility will ensure the volunteer services provided by MMRT can continue for many more years to come.” In a social media post to outline its funding bid, the team sets out the central role it plays in helping people and providing public safety education – and all whilst being a voluntary service. Within the details outlined on social media, the team asks supporters to complete an online survey – which can be accessed via https://bit.ly/3TegWn8 – as well as filling out and returning a letter of support, a guidance template of which can be downloaded via the https://bit.ly/3Pg7tug link.
The team spokesperson added that completing the survey and letters of support, outlining why you support a new base for the search and rescue team, “would greatly enhance our grant application”.
He concluded: “We really appreciate everyone’s support and we look forward to this exciting time ahead, when we can finally have a permanent base we can call home.” The deadline for the survey and all letters of support is 28 March 2024. Letters of support should be returned by email to secretary@mournemrt.org Last month Lidl gave a long-awaited update on its plans to relocate within Newcastle, with the retailer stating it remains “very much committed” to building a new store in the town. The supermarket has been operating from its Railway Street premises since 2001. It purchased the former school site across town in April 2016. Within last month’s update, some eight years after the sale was agreed, a spokesman for the company said: “Lidl Northern Ireland remains very much committed to creating a new state-ofthe-art store in Newcastle and we’re continuing to progress required obligations and complete due diligence, with an ambition to be on site at the earliest opportunity. “We look forward to providing the local community with an update on construction timescales, in line with our partners, as soon as possible.”