In my post about how Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) have “all the gear, no idea” (see here), I mentioned that as far as I know there is only one person in Scotland with the necessary qualifications to operate a ski resort. I then decided to have a look…
Tag: funicular
A large proportion of my campaigning to improve Scotland’s National Parks takes place behind the scenes and doesn’t appear on parkswatch, partly due to the time involved but also because there are limits to what blogging can achieve. Other media is very important which is why I am so appreciative of the Strathy, an excellent…
[NB a postscript has been added to the post to take account of response from CNPA planners] In the last couple of weeks parkswatch has been sent several photos of works at Cairngorms by readers. Initially I thought this photo showed construction work on the magic carpet which Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) announced had…
It is more than apparent that HIE will never allow the dysfunctional monstrosity of a funicular, so abhorred by snow sports enthusiasts and environmentalists, to be dismantled, especially after the huge repair bill funded by the Scottish Government, unless something goes so catastrophically wrong that they have no choice. But there is another option, just…
A couple of weeks ago the latest accounts for Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL), Highland and Island Enterprise’s wholly owned subsidiary, were published (see here). They are a charade but confirm it is not just the financial liabilities created by the funicular which are the problem. While CMSL describes its principal activity as “the operation…
This post contains the second part of the report (see here for first) that was presented to Ivan McKee, the Minister responsible for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) at the beginning of July. Draft Report in response to the financial crisis facing Cairngorm Part II The bigger picture 4) What is needed at Cairn…
Introduction Following my post about the meeting between a concerned group of experts and Ivan McKee, the Scottish Government minister responsible for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) (see here), parkswatch is publishing the report we discussed with him at the start of July over three posts. We presented the report as a draft and stated…
Most of my working life has been as a mechanic in various fields from commercial to private vehicles, so I have a practical and varied knowledge of mechanical engineering. In writing posts for parkswatch, I would hope it is obvious that I haven’t done all the work myself. I have been advised and assisted by…
Cover-up, incompetence, negligence or all three? At the end of my post in May (see here) I stated that the Scottish Government appeared at last to be realising that the business case presented by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the repairs to the funicular railway was not as comprehensive as it should have been….
Following my post in March about Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE)’s proposal to build mountain bike tracks at Cairngorm (see here), parkswatch has not considered the matter further. Meantime the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) considered and approved the application (see here) at the end of May. I did not watch the planning committee meeting and…
Last September I described how Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) released the Health and Safety file from the funicular construction nine months after I had requested it and how information within it undermined the official explanation to why the repairs to the funicular had been delayed (see here). With the recent revelations about how HIE…
It turns out that the financial disaster at Cairngorm is going to be even worse than Parkswatch predicted (see here). Not only are the funicular repair costs increasing but, as Martin Williams revealed in the Herald on Sunday 9 days ago (see here), there is no money to pay for this, let alone the annual…
I had not intended to leave it two months before featuring another of Adam Watson’s photos (see here). He took this photo of the upper part of Coire Cas shortly before the Lurcher’s Gully Public Inquiry in 1981 at which he presented scientific evidence about the impact of ski developments at Cairn Gorm. Ten…
There have been a number of significant developments over the last couple of months that relate to Cairn Gorm that have not, as yet, been covered by parkswatch. The Scottish Minister responsible for the disastrous decision to fork out £32.42 million over the next five years on repairing the funicular (see here) and who committed…
When I wrote post (6) (see here) in the series with this title I thought I had covered the majority of the issues with the funicular. I arrived at the conclusion that yes the repairs would work but with no idea of the longevity of those repairs. Job done. Then, on 04/05/2021 it was reported in…
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive” This quote from Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem, of 1808, Marmion, is a neat way of saying that when you lie or act dishonestly you initiate problems and a domino structure of complications which eventually run out of control. It could have…
Over the years there has been a lot of criticism of the positioning of the “mid-station” loading area and the increase in travel time, and hence delays, when it is in use, but this post takes a look at a couple of aspects that as far as I know have never been discussed. Why was…
The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authorities (NPAs) were both awarded significant increases in funding in the Scottish Government’s budget (see here), a significant turn-around in fortunes. In September the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) reported a significant hole in their finances, with a projected deficit – after yet…
A month ago I obtained the Cairngorm Mountain Business Plan 1st April 2020 – 31st March 2023, along with Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s operational agreement with Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd, their fully owned subsidiary responsible for the plan, through Freedom of Information requests. Both documents are heavily redacted (sorry still too many MB in size…
When I started this series of posts (see here), (here), (here), (here) and (here) I had expected to write three, maybe four, before reaching a conclusion. But as time went on, more and more information has been revealed through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. These FOI’s enabled correlation with the COWI (engineering )report, Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE’s)…
Continuing this series of posts (see here), the idea for funicular at Cairn Gorm was I believe inspired by the Ellmau funicular. A comparison between the two railways is instructive and raises further questions about whether the proposed repairs to the Cairngorm Mountain funicular. The most outstanding difference is the viaduct itself, steel piers and…
Following on from my last post (see here), which looked at whether vibration from poorly maintained rails could have caused damage to the piers supporting the funicular, this post focuses on the concrete parts of the structure, especially the ends of the “I” support beams and the in-situ blocks. The “I” beams are described as…
This post takes a further look at the longer costs and benefits of the funicular railway at Cairn Gorm as set out in Highland and Island Enterprise’s Full Business Case (FBC) (see here) . What I failed to mention in my first post on the FBC back in October (see here) was the total estimated costs…
Since the release of the COWI report on 11th December, which Highlands and Islands Enterprise had withheld for two years, Parkswatch has been able to start investigating the repair of funicular (see here) and (here). We have been uncovering new issues and questions on an almost daily basis. For example, Pier 9 (photo above) featured…
In the first part of this series of articles (see here), about whether the repairs Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has planned for the funicular will work, the following picture was thought to be that of a pier base. Photo credit. G.Paton. It is now believed to be that of Anchor Block(AB) 48. Notice there…