World Heritage Centre

The Downside of Success – Coping with our increasing tourist numbers…

Finn Purdy on August 1, 2018, 7:21 pm

| Readers 2507

Over the past number of years, Northern Ireland’s tourism industry has maintained a steady growth and our visitor attractions have continued to become more popular than ever. These high levels of tourism are a relatively new phenomenon for the region and perhaps not one we have yet learnt how to deal with properly. In 2017 there were an estimated 4.9 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland, the highest estimates on record. Many of our most popular visitor attractions are purpose-built …

“the looming legal row, which is due to commence on 9 January, could become a defining event for Northern Ireland…”

Pete Baker on December 30, 2012, 4:51 pm

| Readers 76

Well, perhaps. At the very least it might provide the basis for some actual politics, for a while… ANYhoo… The Observer’s Jamie Doward with a reminder of the upcoming legal battle over planning permission for the Bushmills Dunnes development – a 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, golf academy, 120-room hotel and 75 golf lodges complex, plus associated car parking facilities, at Runkerry, close to the Unesco World Heritage Centre Giants’ Causeway and Causeway Coast. In June this year the National Trust sought leave for a …

National Trust: “To ensure that no further misunderstanding or misrepresentation of this exhibit can occur, we have decided to review the interpretive materials in this section.”

Pete Baker on July 18, 2012, 2:05 pm

| Readers 95

As the BBC report, after a fortnight of stonewalling and denials, and temporarily closing comments at their press blog, the National Trust has announced that they intend “to review the interpretive materials” in the controversial section of their Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre. [Have the Geological Society had a word in their shell-like? – Ed] They’re still blaming everyone else. However, one small part of the visitor centre’s interpretive display has caused mixed reactions, mainly from people reacting to media coverage and …

Memo to the National Trust…

Pete Baker on July 10, 2012, 5:26 pm

| Readers 47

The “intellectual baboons” behind young-Earth creationism at the National Trust’s Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre are singing your praises in letters to the editor and op-eds in the News Letter ‘Caleb’ had engaged over many months with elected representatives and the National Trust on this. The step taken by the Trust is a small, but welcome, move towards greater inclusivity. [added emphasis] It is though, of itself, significant. For the first time a younger earth interpretation has now been included as part …

Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre: “The National Trust fully supports the scientific explanation for the creation of the stones 60 million years ago”

Pete Baker on July 6, 2012, 4:07 pm

| Readers 165

Which is fine, but misses the point. The National Trust continues to try to defend its decision to give in to the lobbying of the Caleb Foundation and include young-Earth creationist beliefs in the Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre. [Are they after the crank pound? – Ed] Maybe… and maybe not. Yesterday’s NT press office blog carried this quote A National Trust spokesperson said: “The interpretation in the visitor centre showcases the science of how the stones were formed, the history of …

Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre: “This is, as far as we are aware, a first for the National Trust anywhere in the UK, and it sets a precedent for others to follow…”

Pete Baker on July 5, 2012, 2:27 pm

| Readers 193

John’s professed concern is misplaced. As the National Trust press release on the “new state-of-the-art visitor centre” at the Unesco World Heritage Site Giants’ Causeway noted New interactive displays and activities inside the visitor centre include an animation of the legend of Finn McCool and an innovative hand-held audio guide. Such distractions aside, and without access to the material at issue, the quotes in the UTV report from the National Trust raise serious questions. The trust said that the exhibit gives …

WHC requests UK Government “to halt the proposed development of a golf resort at the World Heritage property ‘Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast'”

Pete Baker on June 26, 2012, 8:22 pm

| Readers 105

The BBC reports that the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of Unesco has agreed to request “the state party of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to halt the proposed development of a golf resort at the World Heritage property ‘Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast’ until its potential impact on the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage property has been assessed”. The WHC request comes after the National Trust’s decision to seek leave for a judicial review of the decision to grant …

“the trust’s over-riding focus is the protection of the environment and landscape within the distinctive setting of Northern Ireland’s only World Heritage Site”

Pete Baker on June 13, 2012, 10:59 pm

| Readers 121

The BBC report on the news that the National Trust are seeking leave for a judicial review of the decision to grant planning permission for a 18-hole golf course, hotel and golf lodges complex at Runkerry, close to the Unesco World Heritage Centre Giants’ Causeway and Causeway Coast, begins thus Stormont ministers have reacted angrily to a legal challenge by the National Trust over the decision to grant planning permission for a £100m golf resort on Northern Ireland’s north coast. That’s according to an …