Environment Minister Alex Attwood has said he will not impose a National Park in County Down’s Mourne Mountains.<\/p>\n
In a statement to the BBC, he said “the voice of opposition in the Mournes is greater than the voice of support”.<\/p>\n
He said he was continuing to take stock on the full range of views but “a national park cannot be imposed and as things are – there won’t be one in the Mournes”.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without a national park.<\/p>\n
A national park is an area of protected countryside administered by its own independent government-funded body to look after its conservation and promote its benefits.<\/p>\n
The minister has previously indicated he wants two to be created, with the Mournes, the Causeway coast, the Antrim Glens and Fermanagh Lakelands identified as possible areas.<\/p>\n
There are 15 national parks in Great Britain and six in the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 people attended a public meeting in September in Newcastle, County Down, where farmers and local residents voiced their opposition to the Mournes being designated a national park.<\/p>\n