Yesterday with almost no notice the funicular at last re-opened. Highlands and Islands Enterprise, in a news release issued on Wednesday (see here) claimed that “all safety-critical matters have now been concluded” – not exactly the same thing as stating all the safety concerns that caused them to close the funicular in August 2023 have been addressed. Indeed, HIE went on to state:

“Balfour Beatty will return to Cairngorm during a less busy period in late spring or early summer to carry out some final remediation works that are not essential for safe operations.”

Whether any independent safety inspections of the works have taken place or whether the Department for Transport, which signed off the funicular as safe in January 2023 after the original repairs, have done so again or simply taken HIE’s word for it was not stated.  Nor did HIE state how long it expects the latest repairs to last, whether they are guaranteed or the final cost to the public purse.

HIE’s late announcement perhaps explains why there were so few people enjoying what snow there was in the Ptarmigan bowl on a nice day.  That snow, however, illustrates what has been lost by the funicular being effectively closed for six out of the last seven snowsports seasons – if, that is, HIE manages to keep it open for the next couple of months.

That after perhaps the poorest snow season on record, the top of Cairn Gorm still has snow, without any artificial snow making tells you something. Due to its altitude it is clearly the last place in Scotland where downhill snowsports will be sustainable in the face of global warming  Within that context, wasting six seasons all because HIE and the then Minister responsible, Fergus Ewing, decided it was better to repair the funicular – at a cost of over £25m – rather than install new uplift which could have been operating several years ago is a massive scandal.

 

The toxic culture wars

Perhaps it was just a coincidence but before learning that the funicular was re-opening this week, the Badenoch and Strathspey Advertiser had been fed a story that the majority of staff at CMSL strongly supported management.which it ran on its front page.   In a written statement staff claimed that those who had made allegations about bullying and harassment (see here) were pushing “their own agendas without facts or evidence” and that it was they, not management, who had created a toxic culture at Cairn Gorm:

While only staff, not management, signed the statement it is not clear whether the Strathy was told who actually drafted it. One could speculate about the wording, which contains a fair amount of management speak and sounds almost too good to be true.

The more interesting question is why only 34 staff signed the statement when the last accounts for CMSL, for the year till 31st March 2024, record there were an average of 88 staff employed during the year (up from 72 the year before)?   Even if eight of those are managers and twelve were “new starts” this season, that would mean only half the staff at CMSL signed the statement to the Strathy.  Were only 34 asked or did some refuse?

The three whistleblowers (see left) responded to the accusations in the statement with dignity and reminded readers that (while evidence had not been found to prove their complaints) the investigation had revealed issues which needed to be addressed (see here). Therefore what they had said was based on facts and evidence and was NOT toxic misinformation as claimed.

Besides the limited number of staff signing the statement, the number of staff who have left CMSL and the reasons for this is also relevant.  John Swinden claimed (see here) that he had “listed between 12 and 15 staff” who had “left the business in a 12-month period because they could not tolerate working there because of the treatment they received.”  The numbers, at least, should be easy enough to verify.

True to form the local MSP, Fergus Ewing, decided to wade into the fray and the way he did so confirmed Parkswatch’s recemt conclusion that he is deluding himself about the management at Cairn Gorm (see here):

Mr Ewing’s claim that “operations on the hill” have been hindered by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) is completely unsupported by the facts.  The CNPA has approved one poorly thought out and inappropriate planning application after another, including the repairs to the funicular which have cost the public £25m.  The only exception was the artificial ski slope HIE wanted to build above the car park in a very prominent position facing the prevailing south westerly winds. A large proportion of what the CNPA has approved, however, has then been botched by CMSL:  from the Sunkid rope tow and beginners area which has since been effectively abandoned to the plan to move the snow factory up the hill.

Mr Ewing claims HIE should be given credit for the amount of money they recovered (from Natural Retreats going bust and from the original construction of the funicular).  The total recovered was £11.1m out of over £50m wasted on the funicular to date (see here), not to mention all the other money lavished on Cairn Gorm. In addition, when approving the Full Business Case to repair the funicular, Mr Ewing, as the minister then responsible, committed £73.09m in public subsidy to keep the funicular running for the next 30 years (see here).

While I agree with Mr Ewing that public inquiries are generally a waste of time and money, they can compel key witnesses like Mr Ewing to give evidence under oath. Perhaps, if he thinks public inquiries are such a bad thing he could publicly commit to co-operating fully with an inquiry by the Scottish Parliament?  That would be a major step forward.  Besides the funicular, such an inquiry  could look at why HIE and “the team” haven’t been able to make Cairn Gorm work despite having everything on a plate compared to the other ski cemtres in Scotland: the best transport links, the longest natural season and many more times in public funding than the other four centres combined.