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The Partnership has hit out at “crippling” government cuts by the Department of the Environment that have slashed our budget by more than half.

Partnership Manager Dr Jim Bradley warned that our organisation faced closure, job losses and the collapse of vital services.

“Our funds have been axed by a massive 54 per cent. We are in line for this year’s raft of three-yearly core funding and are being expected to carry a particularly savage cut," he said on Tuesday.

“To have this happening because we are one of the environmental bodies applying this year is grossly unfair.”

The Belfast Hills Partnership seeks to improve and protect the Belfast Hills. It was formed in response to ongoing concerns about the exploitation and degeneration of landscapes and habitats in the Belfast Hills during the 1980s and 1990s.

It currently runs physical and mental health initiatives for people living in some of the most deprived areas in the north and west of the city from its offices in the unemployment blackspot of west Belfast.

The current proposal is to cut £250,000 awarded between 2007 and 2010 to £135,000 in the 2010 to 2013 raft – a whopping 54 per cent slashing of funds.

Dr Bradley said: “We understand that all sections of the economy must take their hit in these harsh economic times, but cuts of these magnitudes would be a real setback for small bodies such as ours.

“These crippling cuts have not been made because of any poor performance or poor grant application. We are hitting all the targets set for us.

“In the last three years have put in new footpaths, started invasive species control programmes, surveyed upland heath and Irish hare populations, promoted the health of this city, attracted more visitors and tourists and rolled out a whole series of successful events to raise awareness of the Belfast Hills.

“We have also brought a new way of dealing with issues ranging from wildfires to development planning in the hills which shows the way forward when we work in partnership.

“We are now spearheading new heritage and tourism projects. Our ability to deliver these is now severely threatened. Rebuilding that capacity after such a cut because we have applied in the ‘wrong year’, will take a very long time.”

Background to the current funding cuts.

The Belfast Hills Partnership submitted a grant application under the NIEA Natural Heritage Grant in August of 2009 to seek core funding for the tri-annual period of 2010 to 2013.

• The current proposal is to cut £250,000 awarded between 2007 and 2010 to £135,000 in the 2010 to 2013 raft – a cut of 54 per cent.

• About 15 bodies are core funded by NIEA within the Natural Heritage Grant Scheme with a third of these seeking funding this year.

• Groups currently in line for funding include some of Northern Ireland’s leading environmental organisations - Mourne Heritage Trust, National Trust and Lagan Valley Regional Park in south Belfast.

• The grant scheme is aimed at securing delivery of NIEA objectives in key areas – usually applied for by way of letters of offer which outline partial core funding (usually 60 per cent).

• Other core funding comes from bodies such as local councils and other government departments.