Department rejects plans for cable car at Rostrevor

No route had been confirmed but sources had said the preferred terminus could be in the vicinity of a landmark called Cloughmore (the Big Stone)

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council's plan to move the Mourne Gondola project from Newcastle to Rostrevor will not be supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).

Minister Andrew Muir said he has "serious concerns about the potential impact the project would have on environmentally sensitive areas".

The council's proposal to move the project from Newcastle to Rostrevor was confirmed in May after the National Trust said it would not be leasing land on Slieve Donard for the scheme.

The cable car ride aims to attract 350,000 visitors each year.

It is understood the council's plan for Rostrevor would require the use of land controlled by Daera, via the Forest Service.

The minister has effectively said that he will not give permission for the land to be used.

In a statement on Wednesday, Muir said he "greatly values Rostrevor forest and its role within the wider landscape context".

It added that given the minister's concerns, "the Department is not in a position to support the council's proposal for the project to be constructed at Rostrevor forest".

"Minister Muir greatly values highly the work undertaken to date by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in partnership with Forest Service and he wishes to see such collaboration continue," the statement said.

The council said in May that the new cable car route was yet to be determined but confirmed it would not pass through the ancient oak woodland in Rostrevor.

Although a council press release did not state a proposed route for the ride at Rostrevor, a number of sources told BBC NI that they believed the preferred terminus to be in the vicinity of a landmark called Cloughmore (the Big Stone).

The cable car or gondola plan is officially known as the Mourne Mountains Gateway project.

In a statement to BBC News NI, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council said that it is working under a Memorandum of Understanding with DAERA for the development of tourism facilities at Kilbroney, Slieve Gullion and Castlewellan forest parks.

It said it has invested more than £10m in the last 10 years and has plans for further investment in a treetop walk attraction in Castlewellan.

The council said that with "full agreement" of Belfast Region City Deal partners and the support of the Warrenpoint, Burren and Rostrevor Chamber of Commerce, it had "recently been exploring" the proposal to deliver the Mourne Mountains Gateway project.

"Newry, Mourne and Down District Council remains committed to securing the £30 million BRCD investment for the district and is actively exploring options with our partners in BRCD, Tourism NI and the Department for the Economy."

A previous proposal for a cable car route up to a disused quarry on Slieve Donard was scuppered earlier this year

What is the cost of the gondola project?

The BBC revealed last month that spending on the gondola project has reached £1.35m before construction has begun.

The original plan for the £44m project would have involved the development of a 1km cable car structure and a mountainside visitors' centre on Slieve Donard.

The previous route would have carried passengers 230m up from Donard Park in Newcastle to a disused quarry.

Supporters of the project say it would drive tourism and the local economy with the potential of attracting up to 350,000 visitors a year.

Opponents have raised environmental concerns as well questioning whether local access roads could accommodate that many visitors or whether the project would indeed attract that many people in the first place.

In relation to the use of Slieve Donard land, the National Trust said the project should not go ahead in light of the "fragile and threatened" state of the Mourne landscape.

No amended costings or route have since been provided by the council in relation to the Rostrevor plan.