Tag: HIE

February 9, 2024 Nick Kempe 13 comments

On 25th January it was a year and a day since the UK Department for Transport had declared the funicular safe to re-open and exactly five calendar months since the funicular was suddenly closed for safety reasons and to attend to ‘snagging work’. After announcing several dates by when it expected the funicular to reopen…

January 16, 2024 Alan Brattey 1 comment

The Cairn Gorm funicular railway first went into service on 24 December 2001. The significant cost overruns have been well documented but it should be made clear that the construction costs were met from the public purse and that there was no requirement on the operating company to repay any of that grant funding. The…

December 27, 2023 Graham Garfoot 22 comments

(A) The steel strengthening brackets   This picture shows the three different types of bracket used in the strengthening works. I have labelled these:- Type 1. The bracket in the foreground (used in the central section of the “I” beam Type 2. The brackets around the insitu block either side of the number 23 Type…

December 12, 2023 Graham Garfoot 20 comments

After my post on Concrete and the Death of a Ski Resort (see here) the following comment was posted which I think deserves a proper reply.   Environmental change Significant human intervention began at Cairn Gorm when skiers first arrived and decided it was the best place to build a ski area, a resort that has…

November 28, 2023 Nick Kempe 2 comments

Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL) is Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE)’s subsidiary that is responsible for operating  the facilities at Cairn Gorm, including the funicular. Earlier this month saw the publication (see here) of its accounts for the year to 31st March 2023. They start with this statement signed by Peter Mearns on behalf the…

November 3, 2023 Nick Kempe 3 comments

The accounts for Natural Assets Investment Ltd (NAIL) (see here), the zombie company which bought Cairngorm Mountain Ltd (CML) from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), were published at the end of September.  NAIL placed CML into administration after the funicular became unsafe to operate in 2018 and was one of the parties HIE subsequently sued….

October 23, 2023 Graham Garfoot 16 comments

While researching why the funicular was beams were built out of concrete rather than steel (see here), apart from being told that the beams should have been deeper, “tensioning” was mentioned. I didn’t appreciate the importance of what was being talked about at the time but then, after my last post (see here), this comment appeared:-…

September 21, 2023 Graham Garfoot 21 comments

In June HIE claimed the funicular was perfectly safe On 09/06/2023, after being contacted by several Parkswatch readers, I wrote a letter (see here) raising safety concerns about the Cairn Gorm funicular to Stuart Black, Chief Executive Officer of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), who own it. On 21/06/2023, I received a reply not from…

May 1, 2023 Alan Brattey 2 comments

My post on The bus service and parking capacity at Cairn Gorm (published on Saturday 22 April 2023) received a number of comments  on parkswatch and on the Save the Ciste facebook page. Parkswatch is indebted to those who took the time to point out the difficulties and costs associated with the provision of a…

April 22, 2023 Alan Brattey 9 comments

The snowsports season on Cairn Gorm came to an end on Sunday 16 April 2023. It wasn’t the best or worst of seasons, although the available parking capacity was exceeded on a number of occasions, particularly at mid-term in February. During the course of the mid-term holiday in February, CairnGorm Mountain Scotland Ltd found it…

April 4, 2023 Graham Garfoot 2 comments

This post is a critical analysis of the latest report into the impact of snowsports commissioned by the Scottish Government which was quietly published in January (see here).  The report contains some major flaws/ inaccuracies which need to be addressed and has implications for all of Scotland’s ski centres, including the three in the Cairngorms…

March 12, 2023 Nick Kempe 2 comments

I have always been sceptical about Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE)’s funicular court cases going ahead because of what further it might reveal about their incompetence.  But those court cases (see here) may be the price the Scottish Government has exacted for picking up the cost (c£26m?) of the funicular repairs There was an interesting…

February 16, 2023 Nick Kempe 7 comments

With the funicular re-opened, the natural advantage that Cairngorm Mountain has over Scotland’s other downhill snowsports areas due to its altitude has been very apparent this week.  While the other resorts have no snow, the beginner slopes in the Ptarmigan bowl are stlll in good condition. Over 1000ft below, Cairngorm Mountain’s unnatural advantages over other…

February 14, 2023 Graham Garfoot 6 comments

This post has been informed by comments made on my series of six posts on “Will the repairs to the funicular work” and discussion with people with a far greater knowledge of construction and civil engineering than me. When I commented on this picture in my second post on the funicular court cases (see here)…