Gondola plans may face legal contest

9 April 2025

CAMPAIGNERS opposed to the controversial gondola ride into the Mournes are prepared to go to court to stop it from getting off the ground.

At a public meeting in Newcastle attended by around 150 people last week, campaigners said they will “throw the kitchen sink” at the £44m plan being financed by the Belfast City Region Deal and Newry Mourne and Down Council.

Details of a major public protest were also unveiled with a march from the Downs Road car park to Donard Park in Newcastle being organised for May 10.

Plans to run a cable car from a base station in Donard Park to a new visitors’ centre at a disused quarry at Thomas’s Mountain are at the heart of the Mourne Gateway Project.

Last week’s meeting at Newcastle Community Cinema heard calls for the National Trust and Stormont environment minister Andrew Muir to pull the plug on what has been described as a “flagship tourism project” with claims that the Department for the Economy is also concerned about the impact the gondola ride will have.

There was also concern that the Mourne Heritage Trust and Forever Mournes Partnership — a collaborative group set up in the wake of the devastating fires in the mountains in 2021 — have not expressed opposition to the proposed cable car ride.

A number of concerned residents, who were joined by others from Belfast and Newry, expressed frustration that they are “being kept in the dark” about the scheme which they warned is going to be a burden around the necks of the district’s ratepayers for many years to come.

And a challenge was issued to local council officials and politicians to face the public to discuss the project, in particular, its financial and environmental impacts.

Campaigners argued the £30m which the City Deal is contributing to the gondola ride “could be much better spent” and that there are a number of alternative schemes it could be used to fund.

Organised by the Save Our Donard group, last Tuesday evening’s near two-hour meeting heard that a planning application for the gondola ride could be lodged as early as this September.

Campaigners say they hope the project won’t reach this stage and that it will be off the table in favour of more agreeable and environmentally friendly alternatives which everyone in the community can buy into.

Mr Declan Owens said the campaigners’ objective is to stop the gondola in a way that respects local democracy.

He said the meeting was about hearing the voice of the public on the proposal at a time when there is a lack of political voices in the council chamber about one of the biggest ever tourism projects proposed for the island of Ireland.

To date, only the Alliance Party has publicly expressed its opposition to the scheme which many fear could cost in excess of £50m — if it ever got the go-ahead.

Mr Owens, who is also the chief executive of Ecojustice Ireland, said it behoves those opposed to the gondola to make it known to political parties across the board they are vehemently opposed to the project “and it cannot happen”.

He continued: “Most people will have a common reason for opposing this project. It is against common sense and offends, the eyes, the heart and the soul and this meeting is an opportunity for people to have their say and give ideas in relation to a campaign to prevent this from happening.

“The main dynamic this year will be a planning application which is likely to go in. Already, hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on consultants who will try to present an au fait accompli for this project.”

Mr Owens said while there are other groups opposed to the gondola plan, SOD Off is focused on an adversarial approach and “making sure that those with the power and influence in which they can stop this from happening are going to be made fully aware of the opposition”.

He said last week’s meeting was organised to provide a platform for people to encourage them to express their opposition in a public forum and it was not to hear arguments in favour of the gondola.

“We need to challenge those supporting this project,” he added.

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