north antrim coast
Key Regeneration Strategies
while managing over 1 million annual tourists.
• Flagship Development: The opening of the £18.5 million Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre in
2012. Designed to be sustainable and blend into the ridges, it aimed to improve visitor experience
• Rebranding: Northern Ireland’s tourism board, Tourism NI, uses the “Embrace a Giant Spirit”
campaign to market the region globally, positioning the coast as a “Signature Destination”.
international visitors. * Save My Exams +4
• Diversification: Proposals for luxury leisure developments, such as the Bushmills Dunes Golf Resort, aimed to move the economy beyond traditional farming by attracting high-spending
2. Stakeholders & Their Roles
Regeneration here is managed by a mix of “top-down” and “bottom-up” players: ®
high entry fees and “commercialising” a natural asset.
• National Trust: The primary manager of the site; focuses on conservation but faces criticism for
• National Government & EU: Provided significant funding (e.g., £9.6m from the EU) to infrastructure projects.
• Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council: Seeks to balance economic growth with the needs of local residents.
and litter without always providing direct local profit. Save My Exams +4
• Local Community: Often feels marginalised by “honeypot” tourism that causes traffic congestion
3. Evaluation of Success
Metric o
Positive Outcomes
Negative Outcomes / Conflicts
Economic
Generates ~£484m for the regional economy. Employs 75+ full-time staff.
“Leakage”: Many visitors arrive on day-trip coaches from Dublin, spending little on local accommodation.
Social
Improved infrastructure (e.g.,
Translink bus routes).
Contested Space: Locals feel their family heritage is being
“sold” and complain of “neighbourliness being ruined” by traffic.
Environmental
Award-winning sustainable building design.
Overcrowding at peak times exceeds the site’s “carrying capacity,” risking damage to the fragile basalt columns.
4. Contested Decisions: The Bushmills Dunes Case
A major A-Level talking point is the Bushmills Dunes Golf Resort proposal. While it promised 360 jobs and a £100m investment, it was fiercely opposed by the National Trust and environmentalists who argued it would ruin the “Outstanding Universal Value” of the UNESCO site. The project eventually failed due to these conflicts and financial issues.
