Mourne Mountains gondola project costs reach nearly £1.35m
The Northern Ireland Audit Office has said it is monitoring developments in relation to the Mournes Gondola project which, to date, has incurred costs of nearly £1.35m.Last month it was confirmed that Newry, Mourne and Down District Council was planning to move the cable car project from Newcastle to Rostrevor after the National Trust confirmed it would not be leasing land on Slieve Donard for the scheme.BBC News NI requested the council provide a breakdown of expenditure from 2017, when the Strategic Outline Case and Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project was developed, until 31 March of this year.Newry, Mourne and Down Council confirmed that a total of £1,349,118.74 has been spent.
This includes £122,405 on pre-OBC costs, £218,840 on OBC development, and £1,007,873.74 on ICT Fees.A further breakdown of expenditure was refused by the council on confidentiality of commercial or industrial information grounds.The Newcastle project was expected to cost £44m, with £30m coming from the Belfast Region City Deal and the balance from the council. It would have involved the development of a 1km cable car structure from Donard Park up to a disused quarry.The National Trust has 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.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 a statement issued to BBC News NI, the NI Audit Office said: "A number of issues regarding the Mourne Gateway Project have been raised with NIAO. "The local government auditor continues to monitor developments and is keeping the matter under consideration."BBC News NI contacted a number of local councillors in relation to the matter. Some said they had not been contacted by the audit office.One councillor confirmed that a number of councillors had spoken to the audit office in relation to the project after the withdrawal of the National Trust, with governance and transparency concerns discussed.The council has been contacted for comment.
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