This post takes a look at a recent attempt by Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE)/Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) to defend their new but low standard and barely used campervan facility in Coire na Ciste at Cairn Gorm. [Update: for how HIE/CMSL responded to some of the issues raised in this post (see here)].
Background
Following Alan Brattey’s post on the Coire na Ciste campervan park (see here), a reader who commented followed that up with an email to CMSL and HIE about their experience of trying to use the facility and the impact of the funicular repair work. Parkswatch was copied in to the email and the responses from an HIE official and from Susan Smith, Interim Chief Executive of CMSL, who is soon to return to HIE. It is Susan Smith’s email (see here), sent from an HIE account – further confirmation that CMSL and HIE are one and the same (see here) – and the points she made relating to the Coire na Ciste campervan park that are considered here.
The issues raised and CMSL/HIE’s response
Campervanners can only gain access to the Ciste campervan park at specified times each day. The email to CMSL/HIE described how someone who had paid for entry was forced to wait an hour and a half to get in, how a small queue then formed with the fourth vehicle stuck projecting onto the main road and how three campervans then gave up and left. The writer witnessed a single campervan in the park compared to 19 up at Coire Cas. They pointed out that:
- with only three time slots and 45 places potentially available, 15 vehicles could be forced to queue at popular times, creating a hazard on the public road (why didn’t the Cairngorms National Park Authority planners consider this before granting the development consent?);
- part of the appeal of campervanning is that you can decide where to stay at the last minute (this is particularly relevant to Cairn Gorm when its often blowing a hoolie);
- the number of campervans at the Ciste shows that the system is nonsensical.
The writer went on to raise a number of other issues covered in Alan Brattey’s post, the £15 a night charge and the waste disposal facility.
HIE/CMSL’s response – “Reasons behind three book-in time slots”.
“Our facility opened on 7 Sep 2021 and we wanted to set time slots to avoid campervans turning up and causing any noise or disruption to people already using the facility. We want to avoid customers turning up ‘on-spec’ and have a managed facility. We started with two booking slots, with one aimed at allowing some availability to facilitate campervans that have arrived in the area later. This was aimed at the users you have described as ‘making last minute decisions to go to a place’. During the first two weeks of operation we spoke to users and with their feedback increased time slots on the booking system.”
Comment
It is good to see that HIE/CMSL have listened to the handful of customers they have had and increased the number of time slots – from two a day to three a day. It’s not made any difference.
Their whole argument for restricting access is management-speak divorced from reality. A “managed facility” but without staff or facilities! Fixed time slots for entry justified by an alleged need not to disturb campervanners already on the site – when the reality is there is nobody to disturb because its almost impossible to get access! There is no acknowledgement that campervanners are being displaced elsewhere or why this is happening.
Operating a campervan facility is not like running a restaurant during Covid and any time slot system will drive visitors away. Part of the market CMSL/HIE should have been aiming for is the people who drive up in their vans in the evening to get an early start on the hill next day. Under CMSL/HIE’s logic this risks creating disturbance to others. The reality is the main potential source of disturbance is not campervans coming or going but rather the behaviour of their occupants on site, e.g.whether people play music loudly. Thankfully this is not a common occurrence.
HIE/CMSL’s response – “Online booking system”
“I note your frustration regarding the online booking system as it is currently. We are in the process of changing the platform and system we use and this will provide us with greater flexibility on booking slots and timings, which we believe will alleviate the issue that you have highlighted.
Comment
While HIE/CMSL propose to alleviate the issues by changing the booking system and, it appears, by introducing more booking slots, this won’t solve the fundamental problems described above. What, however, is the cost of replacing the online booking platform after just a month of operation? And what does this say about the competence of CMSL/HIE to operate such a facility?
HIE/CMSL’s response -“Price at £15.00 Per Night”
“We realise that price is a factor for some customers. The cost of establishing this facility was c. £60k and as such we have had to establish what we believe to be a reasonable price for the safe and proper removal of all forms of waste, including chemical toilets which also comes with an operational cost in removing waste from the closed system tank that has been installed. The price we set is comparable to facilities at Findhorn. We have regularly asked for customer feedback and on the same day as you used the site we received highly positive feedback on the facility in comparison with other sites across the Highlands.”
“We are currently considering trialling an ‘off-peak’ week night price of £10.00 per night to test price sensitivity.”
Comment
It is very helpful to know that the cost of the campervan park has been £60k – so far – though the operational costs, including removal of the waste are not stated.
Whether that £60k provided value for money is another matter.
Most of the numbered slabs of concrete marking places are already broken. Whether campervans are responsible for this is another matter – there have been so few its hard to see how they could have done so much damage. Rather, it looks as if a heavy truck has been allowed access and been joy ridden around the site!
The business case for the repair of the funicular was based on a net loss of £73.09m over the next 30 years (see here), in the context of which £60k and the quality of what it has bought is merely lose change. But if CMSL/HIE wanted to recover those costs, that should have been quite easy, given the number of campervans visiting the Highlands.
Price, however, is far more than just a “factor for some customers” as HIE puts it. People don’t like being ripped off. Being charged £15 a night for water and a waste disposal point without electricity on what feels like a derelict site is not good value in any sense.
HIE/CMSL’s response – “Waste Disposal”
“Disposal of waste on the site can be made using the grey water discharge, or if you have a fixed system you can drive across the chemical toilet discharge point and dispose of the grey waste in the same drain – as your email has suggested.”
“We are working on improving the signage to make this more obvious to customers and will emphasise this within the booking information.”
Comment
It is good to see the signage has now been improved (right) but how easy will it be for campervans to remove the cover has been put over the chemical disposal point before using it?
Nothing however has yet been done to separate the drinking water (left) from the grey water disposal point, although its good to see the drinking water now appears to have been tested and the sign (visible on the left hand tap) removed:
What needs to happen
The email from HIE/CMSL demonstrates once again why they are totally unfit to run Cairn Gorm. If they cannot run a campervan park, what does this say about their ability to manage the repair of the funicular? Since taking ownership of the Cairn Gorm estate they have destroyed the ski business, a far more important recreational resource, and the natural environment to boot. It is time that the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee took another look at what is going on. Richard Leonard, former leader of the Scottish Labour Party is now Convener of that Committee and just over a week ago put a very powerful case for public funds being spent openly and transparently (see here). There would be no better place for the new Committee to start than HIE’s use public funds at Cairn Gorm.
The funicular is now so great a liability that no-one apart from a government agency guaranteed unlimited funds for the foreseeable future from the Scottish Government could take it on. But Coire na Ciste, now stripped of ski facilities is another matter. The Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust, who are about to open an ice rink at Aviemore (about which more anon) and demonstrated far more competence than HIE has ever shown, should make a bid to take over the “facilities” in Core na Ciste sooner rather than later.
I think the site referred to at Findhorn is new and is here https://www.findhornparking.com/
rather than the Findhorn Holiday Park at the Findhorn Foundation which has been there for years and is an established campsite, not a motorhome stopover https://www.findhornbayholidaypark.com/
Thank you Louise, I have corrected and explained my mistake, Nick
Happy to help
I would go further, Nick, on the lack of enterprise shown and money wasted by HIE. If what HIE has consistently failed on on Cairngorm Mountain is any pointer to HIE’s competency, there needs to be a big question mark on the competency of the whole agency (including in particular its Board and senior executives) to manage any of the disbursement of public funds purported to improve the economy of the Highlands & Islands.
Yes, there are examples or case studies of apparent successes in HIE investment in rural businesses, but how much of that is down to luck and pure chance, and how much is down to judicious use of public funds to stimulate the Highlands & Islands economy? We don’t hear much about the business investment failures (apart from Cairngorm – but that is almost solely due to activists like Parkswatch).
We can perhaps wonder if ” consultants” from within the Caravanning and Campervan Associations and clubs across UK (even Europe) were ever commissioned to advise HIE. The use of public money to create a dedicated overnight halt for campervans would suggest such a wise move as preliminary step was advisable ? From the photo evidence in this post it is clear something has gone chronically wrong . Were some small group /HIE office team left to come up with these ideas. Had a group of 5th year high school students, wholly unfamiliar with the needs of the highly mobile international campervan fraternity, engaged in a paper exercise project to draw up a list – a short wish list of aspects they consider might be desirable to those who might use such overnight parking facilities – they could hardly have done any worse!. So…if HIE did in fact use Touring industry consultants, it would be worthwhile to know who was commissioned and how much Public Money “largess” has changed hands. If no industry or interest group of consultants were employed at all..why-ever not ? Clearly what is now happened up there is an embarrassment of poorly identified , shabbily installed and very temporary facilities. The workmanship is so poorly executed , the investment so high up a mountain can hardly be expected to withstand the approach of winter frosts and gales.
Absolutely insane to have only 3 entry times – what if you are delayed? And how do you get out? I suppose that is controlled as well. What a total mess. How on earth did they spend £60K setting it up?! HIE are totally out of control on Cairngorm mountain!
This is the only motorhome stopover I’ve ever come across that requires an entry time with the booking. Others simply state a deadline for arriving (usually by 10pm, so as not to disturb others) and for leaving (usually around 10am, so others can occupy the space). Reads – and looks – like amateur hour, with HIE using whatever event booking system they happened to have available at the time, rather than a professional service. Good job it’s not a private concern or it would be going bust – in this case it’s “just” public money that they’re wasting. Embarrassing and annoying.
According to the CEO once you’ve managed to gain entry you may then come and go as you please, which questions the logic of having time slots in the first place ♀️♀️
Shocking, shocking, shocking! I despair at the whole enterprise of so-called ease of access to this glorious wilderness that is the Cairngorms. You need only visit the Lake District to see how people involved with tourism successfully manage the whole Park.
Something has gone wrong with the people who run this whole show in Scotland. It’s about time the whole sorry mess was discussed by the Scottish Parliament. Does anybody in HIE REALLY CARE about the situation?!
Answer …………?
………let’s set up a petition OR let’s lobby the SMP’s who represent the counties including the Cairngorms. Do they in fact know what is going on? I think I’ll write to Nicola Sturgeon. ……..by the way, where would we get the money to pay for HIE and their fat salaries if Scotland becomes independent?
NO money from the EU now!!!!!!!!!.
HIE and it’s counterparts Scottish Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise have always received core funding from whichever government in charge. This predates the formation of the Scottish Parliament and it doesn’t matter which political party is in charge – they still get funded and seem beyond scrutiny. Any European money would have funded specific projects and the resources to run them. Back in the day, HIE would have benefitted from more infrastructural funds as it was classed as an Objective 1 area by EU.
EU structural funds are a valuable asset, IF, you have a project in mind any way. If you dream up projects purely for the reason of European match funding then it’s a bit less of a bargain, in my opinion. A bit like shopping – if you go to a shop specifically to get a coat and there is one in the sale then great you got a bargain. If you go without any intention of buying a coat and get one because it’s in the sale then you’ve just bought something you didn’t need and are less well off because of it.
It is a testament to the way the system works that it is painfully evident that no one in the organisation responsible for setting this up has ever been anywhere near a campsite or has the slightest idea how they work.
This country is run by a self contained clique who simply don’t live in the same world as the rest of us.
Not sure you can extrapolate one disaster at HIE as symptomatic of a whole country.
I’m not, this is sadly not in any way unusual.
I have long since ceased to wonder at the costs of HIE’s efforts on Cairn Gorm – EG the losses of £73.09 million over the next 30 years quoted from HIE’s business case. There are other unmentioned losses – like the visitor centre at the top built at a cost of £1 million through a loan from Highland Regional Council written off for £30,000 – and on it goes. What is never mentioned is the other major coast. It all has to come from HIE’s limited budget and, if it is spent on Cairn Gorm, it can’t be spent on the many other opportunities in the broader Highlands and Islands. The benefits that might bring never materialise. That is the big cost that is never mentioned – what economists call The Opportunity Cost!