CairnGorm Mountain Railway borked

Werritty report on grouse moors should be out soon. I think it will provide the solutions or at least I hope so. I think thats why its been so long in preparation to make the recommendations watertight as any action will be strongly opposed by the hunting shooting fishing lobby using hysterical tactics and slurs and smears ( because they have nothing factual they can use to defend the practices)

I’m guessing we won’t see the Werrity Report until after the GE as purdah might apply? (Though as it is only relevant to Scotland, Westminster purdah might be ignored).

For background;

https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8475
https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8217

Note how neither include the ski area, but both include the area below it (where any suggested gondola iuplift from Glenmore would run).

The SAC and SPA are European designations – they may not be an issue post Brexit. There are a series of SSSIs which have similar coverage though.

Scotroutes – the latest I have heard is ” released before xmas” Its well overedue which is causing concern from the conservationists but I think probaly means its being made as robust as possible ( I hope)

Of course the ski area is not designated – its lost much of its ecosystem

If the proposal is for a gondola from glenmore thus allowing the access road to be removed then given that was a proposal pre the railway from the conservation side I would see that as a reasonable tradeoff. Remove motor vehicles from the slopes in exchange for development lower down

A above – it needs to include MTBing as well in any future development to allow for year round income

Depends on why that area is listed as well. Rare bird breeding sites are somewhat different to protection of an area of native trees in their robustness to disturbance

So you are suggesting that we should develop an area currently covered by various environmental classifications and restore an area not currently covered? Sounds good. Can I suggest Bathgate for the latter. I’m sure that, given a bit of time and effort, native flaura and fauna could re-establish itself.

NOt quite Scotroutes. At the time the funicular was being designed IIRC there was a proposal from the conservation side to run the funicular from Glenmore so that the acess road could be removed.

Removing the road ( or just the cars from it) would have a benefit that could be seen as offsetting the evironmental cost of a funicular from lower down – also an mechanical uplift of any sort from Glenmore would make MTBing much more viable

I am NOT advocating removing the ski area – that horse has bolted.

What I am suggesting is a pragmatic tradeoff trying to balance the competing imperatives.

Anyway all those new estates north of aviemore surely should be first to go. good habitat for wolves and bears there. Bathgate habitat would only be suitable for herring gulls and gray sqirrels

Hey leave Bathgate out of this!
We have an SSI locally I think. They were going to develop the land to the North of the old NEC, now Tesco distribution, site. Turns out there are/were some rare newts breeding there and development was halted!

Turns out there are/were some rare newts breeding there and development was halted!

Is ‘newts’ a new phrase for local youth in West Lothian?

Looks like repairs have been approved.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-52774346

Planning has been approved, but…

the final decision on whether to proceed with these works will depend on the outcomes of a detailed options appraisal and business case for Cairngorm Mountain.

IIRC if it doesn’t run by September 2021 it needs to be removed. Was that not one of the original planning stipulations, that if it doesn’t run for 36 months it needs to be removed?

Not looking good 😬

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-53078212

HIE have basically been given the all clear by Audit Scotland so I wouldn’t expect any change of direction.

So if I read it correctly (and remember previous figures) cost of repairs are now more than cost of removal!

That is how I read it.

scotroutes – where is the local community involvement up to?

How much for a Gondola from the hayfield? 🤔

So if I read it correctly (and remember previous figures) cost of repairs are now more than cost of removal!

As I’ve already pointed out on this thread, the cost of removal is irrelevant to the cost case for the repairs as it’ll have to be removed at some point anyway.

scotroutes – where is the local community involvement up to?

It’s up to nowhere. Despite doing everything to placate HIE the Community Trust have got nowhere with them.

How much for a Gondola from the hayfield

The Hayfield and most of the route up belongs to FLS, not HIE.

Cairngorm Mountain railway unborked?

Unbelievable.

Normal HIE balls-up and a waste or £20m. Aviemore and area was busier than ever this summer, despite no funicular and it’s not even the best way of uplifting skiiers. They’ve not even published their “master plan” for the area yet.

More than £4m of the new investment is to be used for improvements at the ski centre, including upgrades of paths and car parks and the electrification of “cannons” used to distribute artificially-made snow.

Sounds more like maintenance than improvement

I wonder if they will release funding quickly enough to get some of the upgrades (thinking snow cannons) ready for this winter season?

With European ski season looking out of bounds for UK folk, the Scottish ski resorts could be in for a bumper season if they can get snow on the ground!

There’s actually real snow on the ground at the moment!

Well at least it points to action of sorts.

This should be investigated as a criminal case the way they’ve wasted money on that flippin’ white purple elephant. And the cure? Throw more money at it. It really does boil my wee wee this one.

Such a waste. 16m could transform the infrastructure on that mountain, rather than throwing more good after bad on that train.

This should be investigated as a criminal case the way they’ve wasted money on that flippin’ white purple elephant. And the cure? Throw more money at it. It really does boil my wee wee this one.

It’s shocking isn’t it. One of the things I’d love to do if I won the lottery is to pursue a private prosecution against whoever was responsible for that shitfest.

What I do not get is funiculars are proven tech used all over the world. No reason why it should have been such a useless mess up. Not spending enough in the first place? wrong design?

Again they talk about a year round attraction but no talk of opening up mtb tracks which would generate ££££

This should be investigated as a criminal case the way they’ve wasted money on that flippin’ white purple elephant. And the cure? Throw more money at it. It really does boil my wee wee this one.

Meanwhile we can’t persuade a couple of million from Scottish government to protect outdoor centres for the future – introducing thousands of children to nature, adventure and Scotland as a ‘place’ in a positive and sustained way. Not as a tourist tat shopping experience with a view.

Ridiculous.

Repairs due to start this week
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54792988

My money is on the coldest most precipitous winter in years.

And Cairngorm have withdrawn from the reciprocal discount scheme where season-pass holders at one of the 5 ski areas are given a 30% discount off a day ticket purchased at any of the other 4 areas.

It seems at along with not wanting their own customers, the don’t want anyone else’s either, not even for the day…

Meet the new masterplan, more of the same!

https://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/masterplan-aimed-at-transforming-fortunes-of-cairngorm-mount-240117/

For instance, some people hold strong views both for and against changes to visitor management at the plateau and on the potential for mountain biking within the estate.

“Any future plans that might be brought forward on these subjects would need to be thought through very carefully and, of course, be subject to the regulatory planning process.

Once again the lack of plans for Coire na Ciste – a popular area with intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders – is conspicious by its absence.

Action:
HIE/CMSL
• Work with the operating company and
other stakeholders to develop strategies
to diversity activities and attract visitors
throughout the year.
• Review options for future ownership and
operating models.

There’s an awful lot of not very much in the strategy document 🙁

“We need a plan, who is going to write it”

“go on then, I’ll do it”

some months later……

“How did you get on with the plan”

“it’s done”

“and?”

“my plan is……..someone needs to write a plan”

Groundhog Day

I think it is time to write to some MSP’s over this one…

Look at the stuff on Parkswatch. The mismanagement and seemingly wilful incompetence is endemic at all levels, all stages and all teams involved. This goes back a long time and the blinkers (with added delusion filters for the parts they could see) have been handed down to the next “Management” teams over the last 30 years.

Anyone in the hierarchy who claims they didn’t know is just exposing their own staggering lack of oversight and failure to adequately discharge their responsibilities. A National 5 Travel and Tourism class could have done a better job.

I skied on the last day the Mountain was open before construction started – or was scheduled to start, but couldn’t as there was too much snow, but it closed anyway whilst they sat and watched the snow slowly melt, season-pass holders and day-trippers unable to access the snow to ski on. I was pissed off then and time hasn’t tempered it.

It’s an absolute joke, it really is.

£26m fail: Scot gov agency sues creators of shut Cairngorm railway for £14.5m

Headline in the Herald. article is behind a paywall bar this
” A LEADING Scottish Government economic development agency is suing the constructors and designers of the UK’s highest railway which closed three years ago due to structural problems for £14.5m.

The Highland and Islands Enterprise action against the company that owns Morrisons Construction has come as it has emerged that ministers had to refund part of an EU grant for the original Cairngorm funicular because of discrepancies in the way it tendered for the work as costs spiralled from £14.8m to £26.75m. “