Month: March 2019

Funicular Railway, Cairngorm
cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Peter S – geograph.org.uk/p/1975585

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has raised questions in Holyrood about Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Natural Retreats over the operation of Cairngorm Mountain.

Mrs Grant raised a Topical Question today (Tuesday) asking the Scottish Government what action it was taking regarding its dealings with HIE and the company, in the light of a special investigation by the BBC.

She also pushed for the community to take over the running of the mountain to save the local economy.

“Cairngorm Mountain is crucial to the economy of Badenoch and Strathspey,” Mrs Grant, who represents the Highlands and Islands, told MSPs.

“The community there have been expressing concerns for some time about the management of the Mountain by Natural Retreats and the flow of money in and out of the Cairngorm.

“As this is a complicated web involving a public body and its interaction with private companies, can the Cabinet Secretary tell me what financial checks were made of both Natural Retreats and Natural Assets Investments Ltd before they gained the management contact and while it was running?

She went on the ask Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing :

“Were Cairngorm Mountain Ltd in breach of contract when they went into receivership?  If so could HIE have cancelled the contract rather than have to pay the receiver to take it back into ownership?

“Given the community’s desire to own this asset, will the Scottish Government now look a transferring it to them, while ensuring that all monies owing to HIE and the Government are recouped from Natural Retreats?”

Mrs Grant’s questions came against a background of a number of constituents and organisations who were concerned about the running of Cairngorm, especially in the light of Natural Retreats going into administration in November last year, weeks after the funicular was closed due to safety fears.

“However, questions were being asked about the private company and its apparent lack of investment long before it went into administration,” said Mrs Grant following her question in Parliament.

“The complexity of the financial situation made it very difficult to discover exactly what was happening with the flow or money.

“This is not only a question about what happened to get the mountain into this state, but what happens now and what investment can be given to the community which has plans to improve the hill for the future.

“Cairngorm is crucial for the economy of this jewel in the crown of the Highlands and crucial for all those who live and work there.”

In his reply Mr Ewing told Mrs Grant that he had asked HIE for a full account of the situation and will be meeting with them.

He agreed that Cairngorm was extremely important for Badenoch and Strathspey but also for the whole of the Scottish sports industry and he was “well aware” of questions being asked by the media and others in the community.

On the issue of any breach of contract and if public money could be paid back, Mr Ewing said these were “perfectly reasonable questions”, but stressed these were legal questions and it would be imprudent to answer off the cuff.

He said the questions were matters of concern to the public and of considerable public interest.

• The infrastructure of the mountain, the lifts and railway, are owned by the public, under the wing of HIE. In 2014 Natural Retreats took it over the running of Cairngorm. The BBC investigation highlighted that the company was then sold to Natural Assets Investments Limited – a company with many of the same directors as Natural Retreats. Natural Retreats had the lease to operate the mountain – but the assets had been transferred to the wider group.

Ends

Note to editors:

The Topical question:

Rhoda Grant S5T-01570

2. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent BBC investigation, what action it is taking regarding its dealings with Natural Retreats and CairnGorm Mountain Limited.

 

Highlands & Islands Regional MSP, Rhoda Grant, has strived for many years to persuade the local Authority and the Government to expedite improvements to either the existing Stromeferry Bypass or to build another road. Her driver was always to make the route safer for all road users, particularly the children who travel the route twice a day from and to Lochcarron and the surrounding area.  However, after meeting face to face with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Michael Matheson she was left feeling very disappointed.

 

Rhoda said ” I asked for this meeting at the end of last year, as the whole issue of the Stromeferry bypass keeps getting kicked into the long grass and it is an issue that has gone on now for nearly forty years. I doubt very much whether there would be this dragging of feet if the route passed a more urban area down in the central belt.

 

” The fact of the matter is a simple one to understand. Highland Council have responsibility for this route currently, as it is part of the massive 7000km of road that they have to look after. The Council like all others in Scotland have had to face making drastic cuts thanks to the cuts in funding received from the Government after their budget pact with their bedfellows the Greens. Highland Council cannot afford the funding for the options proposed to address the Stromeferry bypass problem, which amount to somewhere between £70 million and £120million. So they and indeed I, have for some time been asking for Government assistance. I have suggested on more than one occasion that the Government should take over responsibility for this road given it is the gateway to Southwest Ross and the Uists. Highland Council for their part have asked for extra funding because of the geographic nature of the vast area of roads and infrastructure that they have to cover.

 

” The Government have consistently knocked back all proposals and suggestions.

 

” Yesterday, I met with Michael Matheson, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and to be frank, I was less than impressed. Put simply, the Cabinet Secretary has absolutely no intention of the Government or Transport Scotland adopting this route as a trunk road and I got the distinct impression that he was washing his hands of any responsibility stating repeatedly to me that this was an issue for Highland Council and they had to deal with it, despite me emphasising that lives were at risk.

 

Rhoda Grant concluded “This whole matter is frustrating. Those in authority keep passing the buck and all the time the people who use this route have to do so knowing it is not safe. What will happen before action to be taken and how long will this issue be allowed to drag on.