Causeway centre set to open in two years

The National Trust said Moyle District Council has now handed over the lease of the site and the final piece to fall into place will be funding from government - which, it is hoped, should be through by the end of February.

National Trust director for Northern Ireland, Hilary McGrady, said they were working on the assumption that the replacement visitors centre will be open for the 2012 season.

The previous centre catering for visitors to Northern Ireland’s only World Heritage Site burned down nine years ago and efforts to replace it became mired in controversy. Ms McGrady said it had been a long and rocky road and it will be a relief to see the diggers moving in in May.

“In two years we have managed to move from complete mayhem to being able to start this May,” she said. “This is a fantastic project for Northern Ireland and will create over 300 jobs in the build stage.”