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Tourist attraction shut nearly as often as open

Finn Purdy
BBC News NI
Getty Images A man and a woman wearing waterproof clothes and white helmets talking a selfie with a mobile phone standing on a metal bridge over the sea on a cliff path.Getty Images
The Gobbins Cliff Path reopened in 2015

A Northern Ireland tourist attraction which has received millions of pounds for repairs and maintenance has been closed nearly as many days as it has open in the past decade.

The Gobbins Cliff Path in Islandmagee, County Antrim reopened to the public in 2015.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has spent about £4.3m since 2017 on repairs to the path, which has faced prolonged closures due to rockfalls, storm damage, planned works and inspections.

A council spokesperson said the attraction is "projected to break even" within five years of of a planned major revamp, which will mark "an important milestone in its long-term sustainability".

The Gobbins first opened in 1902, designed by the engineer Berkeley Deane Wise.

The cliff walk, made up of a series of bridges, paths and tunnels, had fallen into disrepair by the 1950s but a £7.5m investment saw it open again in 2015.

Getty Images Some steps along the bottom of a cliff next to a choppy sea with a metal barrier and handrail between the steps and the sea. Some people are on the steps wearing white helmets.Getty Images
The Gobbins was closed for over a year from June 2016 to June 2017

Since 2015 the attraction has been shut for a combined 1,624 days, or about 46% of the time, according to figures released to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act.

The longest closure was for over a year from 19 June 2016 until 30 June 2017.

A Scottish based company that offers tours of Northern Ireland said while they promote the Gobbins on their website, they haven't included it on tours due to its "unreliable" opening.

Heather Rennie-McGill, director of marketing and sales at Rabbie's, said the Gobbins has "real potential" as a "unique attraction".

Heather Rennie-McGill A woman with short brown hair wearing glasses and a green top smiling at the camera. She is sitting in front of a wooden flower bed with some plants in it and behind that a house with French doors and a wooden fence.Heather Rennie-McGill
Heather Rennie-McGill from the tour company Rabbie's said The Gobbins isn't included in their itineraries due to its "unreliable" opening

"If we're selling tours six to 12 months out for customers, and something like this would be a key highlight because the tour lasts two-and-a-half to three hours which is a big chunk of a day, we'd need reliability," she said.

"We can't include things in our itineraries where it would be taken out at the last minute."

The path is currently closed due to a recent rockfall, the cost of repairs for which is not known.

Mid and East Antrim Council have said they are not able to provide figures on spending on the path before 2017.

The BBC has previously reported that essential maintenance costing £400,000 was carried out to fix the access path after damage caused by Storm Frank in 2015, with an additional £1.6m allocated for scaling works ahead of the 2017 season.

This suggests that at least £5.6m has been spent to maintain the tourist attraction since it reopened.

Two women standing smiling at the camera. The woman on the right has brown hair and is wearing a blue sweatshirt. The woman on the left has blonde hair and is wearing a grey sweatshirt with leopard print writing on it. Both have sunglasses on their heads. Behind them is a sign that says "The Gobbins. The Gobbins Visitor Centre. Behind that is a green fence with stone pillars and behind the fence a long building with some cars parked outside.
French tourists Isabella and Léa Petit Boyer said they were disappointed not to be able to talk the path

Mother and daughter Isabella and Léa Petit Boyer had hoped to visit the path during a week-long trip to Northern Ireland but were disappointed.

"It's a shame that we can't see this cliff," Léa said.

"We first wanted to do the Gobbins Cliff Path because first of all the coast is really wonderful, [and] it's a great tourist attraction."

A man wearing a grey polo shirt and glasses looking at the camera. Behind him a car-park height barrier and behind that some grass and then the sea.
Islandmagee resident Stephen Weir said closures are a "regular occurrence"

Stephen Weir, an Islandmagee resident said he and his wife had hoped to visit the path for his 60th birthday but couldn't due to it being closed.

"It seems to be a regular occurrence," he said.

"Hopefully it will be open and we'll get to do it later on in year but you'd think coming in to the summer season... now would be the time that it would be open."

Stephen also questioned the economic viability of the site.

"In theory it's a brilliant idea to get round there and see the birds and all that in their natural habitat but I mean especially in the current economic climate, I mean do we really need to spend all that money if it's not working?"

A man standing looking at the camera with a slight smile. He is wearing a blue and navy sweatshirt with a large Nike logo on the front and glasses. Behind him is the sea and some headlands.
Stephen Henry said the Gobbins is a "waste of money"

Stephen Henry, who also lives in the borough, said he thinks the path is a "waste of money".

"The rates are paying for it and it's for a service that's never open."

He said that he had been to do the tour on a previous occasion when it was open.

"It's nice to look at, there's no doubt about it.

"But is it value for money? Probably not."

Planned expansion of the Gobbins

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council A computer generated image of a set of metal staircases up the side of cliff with a blue sky and some clouds above. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
An artists impression of the planned upgrades

Last year, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council announced an investment in the Gobbins of £13.5m, with £12.6 million coming from the Belfast Region City Deal.

The plans include a new 60m-high staircase, a rope bridge and new cliff-top welcome hub.

The current visitor centre is located a five minute drive from the path, with tours accessing the path via a shuttle bus service from the centre.

The spending also includes plans to create a new virtual reality offering at the existing visitor centre for those who cannot access the path.

A council spokesperson said that, once completed, "the Phase II development is expected to deliver substantial economic and tourism benefits, including 245,000 cliff path visitor numbers annually, driving substantial growth in the local economy".