Jobs set to go at The Gobbins before reopening

The £7.5m Gobbins cliff path in Islandmagee has been closed since lockdown in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is understood that up to 10 workers may be affected.

Initially it had been expected that the facility would reopen in August.

A report to the borough council has stated a new ticketing system at the attraction will enable “improved utilisation of staffing resource reducing overheads”. A price rise will also apply.

It was also noted the pandemic has “placed new restrictions on how The Gobbins will function operationally with new social distancing measures restricting the size of tours”, adding that a staff reduction will be in place when the attraction reopens on September 1.

Councillors have been told visits to The Gobbins will require pre-booking to ensure social distancing measures can be applied. There were 34,000 visitors last year.

A spokesperson for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said: “Covid-19 has presented huge challenges for our tourism and hospitality industry across Northern Ireland.

“Our Council continues to ensure minimal disruption to vital frontline services, while providing full support to our community and businesses at this time.

“Due to the current financial pressures resulting from Covid-19, council is reviewing its operational resources at The Gobbins.

“We are entering into a 12-week consultation process with staff and will endeavour to mitigate the impact on staff as far as possible..

“We are working closely with our local trade union representatives to support staff from The Gobbins throughout the consultation process.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter.

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you.