Following the end of the 2021/22 Snowsports season, Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL), the company owned and controlled by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, has reimposed mandatory parking charges for the Coire Cas car park. The only difference from before being that the charge has been increased by no less than 50%.
Customers’ reaction can be judged from the numbers avoiding the charges by parking on the verge at the side of the down road (above). There were 53 vehicles parked there at around noon on Saturday 7 May with similar numbers on Sunday 8th May 2022.
Customers, essential to the future of the hill business, whoever is running it, have made their views about the parking charges clear. CMSL/HIE would do well to heed the warning. This is a business that certainly cannot afford to further alienate its prospective customers.
CMSL Management’s attempts to justify these charges are highly questionable. They claim that the money collected will be used to finance improvements to the car parks and other projects. These are the same ‘fairy stories’ used to justify the charges in the past which parkswatch has covered previously (see here). Little to none of the money collected in from mandatory charges and donations in previous years has been used to finance improvements to the car parks or for other ‘projects’ although the car park is in an undeniably dreadful state.
Customers are aware of what has been going on and there are obviously those that are not prepared to provide any further funding to CMSL by paying for parking.
Just a few pictures convey the dilapidated condition of the Coire Cas carpark. The paying public are entitled to ask just exactly what is going on here? What has happened to the considerable sums donated and paid in over previous years.
Asking customers to pay £3 to park in Coire Cas and then pay outrageous prices in the café is madness.
Little wonder that there were just four other customers in the café last Sunday. Cobbs cafe down in Glenmore charges just £3 for a bacon roll.
It would have been much more sensible to introduce a parking scheme that sought to encourage people to patronise the hill business. As it stands today, those who want spend money in the café/shop or on tube slides are being asked to pay to spend their money. No supermarket would do this. Those who just park and possibly use the toilet facilities pay the same parking charge. Why not reimburse the parking charge to those that contribute by spending their money?
On the other hand there is a very strong argument that as taxpayers we have all contributed quite enough to CMSL already and parking should remain free to all and be a public good.
Remarkably, the introduction of mandatory parking charges have not been mentioned at any of the Cairngorm Advisory Group meetings. Minutes of their meetings, which are published on HIE’s website (see here), contain no references to something that is highly controversial. It seems that the advisory group is impotent and is simply yet another HIE front.
The members of this group ought to be considering the advisability of being associated with the ongoing Cairngorm debacle that they clearly can’t influence meaningfully.
Recent revelations (see here) have shown that the hill business is on the edge of closure with high level Scottish Government discussions having taken place about the advisability of committing further public funding. The costs of repairing the funicular are way beyond the budgeted forecasts and nobody can have any faith whatsoever in HIE’s claims about the hill business returning economic benefit to the local and wider economy. That will certainly not happen if managerial incompetence continues to chase customers away, as is the case today.
What should happen now.
Immediate steps should be taken to hand the business over to the Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust [AGCT]. That assumes that they could be persuaded to take control if suitable guarantees were contractually put in place. They have shown their commitment to the local community and publicly proved that they are a talented, hardworking group that make a success of what they do (see here).
The funicular railway, if repaired, should be leased to the AGCT at a very nominal annual cost but with a break clause in the lease should it breakdown again as seems likely. HIE must retain liability for all maintenance and capital item replacement costs.
HIE and the Scottish Government must also provide the capital funding to bring the entire business/area to a modern and acceptable standard.
The CMSL Board of Directors (see here for list), who will have sanctioned the car parking charge debacle as well as the failing Campervan Park – which unbelievably was re-opened on 1st May in the middle of the holiday weekend (what other tourism business would be so stupid?) – should all resign. Directors from the AGCT can then take over and get on with turning the hill business around.
One of the great benefits of the Coire Cas car park is that it both allows and encourages families of every diversity to head up to the Top of Cairngorm. For them it is literally a mountain to climb and not everyone makes it to the top or even out of the Cas to the Ptarmigan Cafe which could be open all summer selling drinks and sandwiches. Some of these individuals will go on to become mountaineers and paying snowsport enthusiasts but clearly not all.
It’s great to see all the kids enjoying the hill and running up and down whilst chiding their parents to hurry up! Never mind your age, it’s all about having a good time on the hill whether skiing, climbing or just out for a wander.
Will this still happen with the parking charges @ £3 and a physical barrier to enter and exit?
At least the opening up Cairngorm this way went some small way to help justify the volume of public money which has been invested here.
How’s the campervan park at Coire Ciste doing? I’ve never been back since last years debacle but sounds like I couldn’t have parked there even if I’d wanted to if it only opened on 1st May. Don’t they realise campervans go out all year round? So opportunities to boost income exist all year round. Why was it closed over winter?
I don’t think it’s right that visitors and the public in general should be paying for the car parks – it’s effectively a cross subsidy from those who use active travel and public transport to get to the parks to those who drive. If anything the cross subsidisation should be the other way round: drivers should subsidise those who access the parks by other means. At the very least, drivers should pay for the maintenance of the car parks they use
The problem within UK is the infinite number of recreational ‘cost centres’ each one competing against all others for some scrap of “Public funding”. Politicians love this, as it gives lots of opportunity to be seen to act in the best interests of those voters who elect them.
A refreshed debate is needed with regard to the lack of direction for Scotland’s two National Parks. What are they supposed to achieve? What form of Funding model is the best way to go about this? It is now wo years since this last took place effectively.
Local authorities control, and drip-feed a myriad functions that could have been better supplied by other means..yet they decline to ‘hand back’ any aspect of the work they see as their own prerogative. This includes provision of recreational parking across rural areas.
Should a fresh Public debate begin, to reset the agenda.? Should public spaces be funded entirely from the public purse – Free at point of use,- or is it ideal that the few who dare bring themselves to a National Park should be required to contribute even more? ( Surely publicly funded spaces are important for the health and recreation of the public ? )
. It is hard to argue that the establishment and maintenance of paid parking in National Parks actually brings in any benefit to assist or better the true purpose of such a place.The income quickly vanishes to pay for enforcement, and other “non jobs”, in auditing unpredictable and microscopic cash flow.
That other nations globally had this central funding debate many decades ago. There the state now makes full provision for running public places such as public parks and picnic areas through the central treasury funding models. The advantages are abundantly clear. Instead of enforcers, the parks employ rangers; instead of fines and compulsion, there is a sense of common ownership .
Let the debate recommence is blatantly clear. It is beyond time for Scotland’s authoities to stop being so petty about this.
Arrived at Cairngorms today to be met with a barrier and £3 parking charge. Wanted a coffee and a view. Door to upper restaurant locked. Very difficult to access to bottom cafe due to stairs. Was unimpressed with dirty tables and no one in a hurry to clear them. Was told to access upper restaurant by an outside access. Door was barricaded by a snow pole. Very, very disappointed!! Was only up cairngorm for 5 minutes and it cost us £3. Not a. very good advertisement for visitors. When we were at barrier at least 5 cars turned back down the mountain. Many cars parked on the verge. Won’t be back!!!!
An extremely disappointed visitor who has be coming to cairngorm for 50 plus years.
I have NOT already emailed this complaint to you!!!!!