A couple of weeks ago I drafted an article about the disgraceful state of the Coire na Ciste Car Park.  I went up there at the weekend to find it had been cleared up.  The appointment of Ross Harris as interim Chief Executive of the new ski area operating company, Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd, would appear to have had an immediate impact.   At last it appears there is someone in charge of the operation who appreciates it matters how the mountain looks

We are left to wonder when HIE intend to remove the Ciste base station building which has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. Planning consent was obtained in December 2013 to demolish the building and construct something suitable around the electric substation that is housed within it. The original planning consent was allowed to lapse and it was revalidated in March 2017. That’s 5 years during which HIE/Natural Retreats managed to do precisely nothing. It’s assumed that demolition will have to take place during this summer otherwise the planning consent will lapse again [in March 2020]

Meanwhile, the Ciste Base Station building remains as an eyesore on CairnGorm and a reminder about HIE and Natural Retreats historic lack of any care for the mountain environment

While it is understood that the demolition of the building requires to be carefully planned, HIE have had years to organise it and we understood that the cost of demolition and partial rebuild was included in the 267k clean-up cost

What’s been cleared up

The abandoned materials around the building, which was testament to many years of mismanagement, have now been cleared up.   The area  had been in a truly dreadful state and the fact it has been cleared up so quickly begs the question why HIE, Natural Retreats and all those responsible for managing the mountain did not arrange for this years ago?

The answer appears to be there was no one who cared and no-one with the will to do it up to now.

There are still some items of rubbish around the site but its much much better

What needs to happen

CairnGorm Mountain is at the heart of the National Park but instead of being its shining tourist jewel it has long been the opposite.

The clear-up in the Ciste is a good start to reversing the neglect and lack of care  It is now to be hoped that Ross Harris uses his underemployed staff team to clear up the rest of the mountain while there is no snow and no uplift – there is rubbish and building debris all over the hill – and that the former Ciste base is demolished this summer (it appears unrecoverable).

Ross Harris should also start engaging with the local community and environmental organisations about how the large parking area at Coire na Ciste could be improved.  There are huge opportunities.

The views out from the car park are stunning, there are some great walks which are almost unknown and this is one of the best places to see Ring Ouzel in Scotland.

Now the rubbish has gone, its time to make more of it – there is lots that could be done down before and without prejudice to the question of what ski infrastructure should be restored to the Coire.