Concerns over an "evacuation plan" for the Mournes Gateway gondola project have been raised by a community group in the wake of recent wildfires.
Over 145 gorse fires recently devastated almost 2km of natural habitat land across the Mourne Mountains during early April.
The scenic Co Down location is the focus of a major tourism development by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) with a planning application due to be submitted later this year. The gondola is expected to attract 350k visitors annually when fully operational.
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Mourne Gateway Info Group founder, Geoff Ingram said: "The issue of evacuating the visitor centre and gondolas is one of many questions that we’ve asked regarding the design and running of this project that the council seem unwilling or unable to answer. "
The project has been dealt a major blow (April 15) after landowners, the National Trust paused its engagement with the council, stating: "We have consistently stated the need for robust and comprehensive environmental assessments and until we receive this, we are pausing our engagement at this time.”
The Mournes Gateway project includes a 1km cable car ride set to climb between two visitor centres from Donard Park in Newcastle to the disused Thomas Quarry on Slieve Donard.
The tourism development is estimated by the council to cost £44 million, with £30 million coming from the Belfast Region City Deal and the remainder from NMDDC.
However, Department for the Economy (DfE) reviewed the local authority's costings in early 2024 and advised its estimate for the project at £50m.
Mr Ingram added: "Access to the quarry where the visitor’s centre is planned to be situated is very narrow and it seems impossible that, in an emergency, hundreds of people could be evacuated quickly from the visitor’s centre at the same time as a large number of emergency vehicles have to use the same track to reach the building. How the gondolas themselves will be evacuated has also never been explained.
"NMDDC have been planning this project for several years, but seem totally incapable of giving any detailed answers to either stakeholders or ratepayers on many questions of genuine concern."
A NMDDC public engagement report by its integrated consultancy team 'Arup' was published in March.
A section of the report on risks, reads: "Respondents identified concerns about the increased risk of wildfires, noting that current visitor numbers already pose a fire risk to the mountains, and the influx of additional tourists could exacerbate this danger.
"There were worries that the gondola structure, along with the surrounding wildlife, could be severely damaged by fires. The feedback emphasised the need for effective fire prevention measures and questioned the project's overall feasibility given the heightened fire risk."
Arup states that its findings reflect engagement activities as of December 2024.
Mournes Alliance rep, Jill Truesdale said: "Residents and visitors have been querying how the proposed gondola would be managed in the event of a mountain fire given how quickly they sweep across the range and their utter unpredictability."
In April 2021, a vast area of the Mournes was ravaged by wildfires including parts of its highest peak at Slieve Donard.
The recent fires in the Mournes were described by Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir as "rural arson" with the potential to put life at risk.
Cllr Truesdale added: "As a member of the Mourne Gateway programme board I have become more and more alarmed at the lack of discussion around evacuation procedures in the event of a mountain fire, indeed I am struggling to remember a single one.
"The new drawings (of the gondola) shown to all councillors on the 24 February ( confidential meeting ) were distinctly underwhelming and I don’t believe fire evacuation was a part of the discussion.
"To evacuate cable cars and people from the visitors centre in the event of a fire will require highly skilled co-ordinated input from all our emergency services, it is a massive operation and Northern Ireland has no comparison. This would most probably require specialist, and expensive, consultancy from outside agencies."
An emergency motion by Sinn Fein cllr Willie Clarke was unanimously supported at this month's full council meeting calling for Minister Muir to bring forward a comprehensive management plan for combating fires in the Mournes.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) contacted the council to comment on its fire risk assessment on the passenger carrying gondola.
A spokesperson said: “The safety of visitors is a key priority for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and in the event of a forest fire, the gondola line will be evacuated and operations will cease until it is deemed safe to re-open.
"The risk of forest fires is a key design consideration that will be evaluated as part of the overall fire strategy. It will also be considered when selecting materials for each element of the Mourne Mountains Gateway project.”
An update meeting on the project is due to take place in the coming days. It is not known at this time when the new gondola designs will be shown to the public.
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