Mournes 'National' Park talks continue

Plans for a National Park in the Mournes area were discussed today during a meeting in Co Down.

The meeting, held in Newcastle, examined both the proposal and to seek a consensus on how local people, elected representatives and various interested parties can most effectively participate in the process.

NIO Minister, Angela Smith, who was speaking at the DOE Environment and Heritage Service organised meeting, said that Northern Ireland could learn from other National Parks but that did not mean we had to copy others.

She added: "The model we choose for National Parks in Northern Ireland has to be one that suits our particular circumstances. It needs to be one that will be acceptable to local communities but at the same time does justice to the designation of a ‘national’ Park.

"The Mourne Mountains and surrounding countryside have a special place in the hearts and minds of many people in Northern Ireland. There are those who earn a living here, those who feel a strong cultural association with the area, and those who wish to visit and enjoy the many attractions that this area has to offer. These are all legitimate reasons for wanting to have a say in the shaping of the proposed National Park."

Other speakers at the seminar included Keith Bungay of Europarc Consulting and Eric Baird of the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

Mr Bungay, former National Park Officer in Exmoor, described how National Parks had evolved in England and Wales and in other parts of Europe. Mr Baird, meanwhile, talked about how the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland had recently been established and how the process there had involved local communities and user groups.

In September 2002, former Minister Dermot Nesbitt announced that he would set up a Steering Group to take forward the designation of a National Park in the Mournes.

This followed an independent study that he had commissioned about the implications of establishing National Parks in Northern Ireland. This study concluded that the Mournes was the area most suited for National Park designation.

(MB)