Call for more visitors and affordable housing in Cairngorms
THE new chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership has set out high goals to attract more international visitors to the Cairngorms National Park and tackle a shortage of affordable housing in the area.
Former HSBC banker Mark Tate told the Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey area committee at Talla nan Ros, King Street, Kingussie, on Wednesday it was “a privilege” to work for the park and he would be working hard to widen its appeal.
He said: “The big attraction of the Cairngorms National Park is that it is an international brand and it has massive potential on a global market. One of my missions is to attract more international visitors.”
His team is launching an economic strategy in the next fortnight focussing on strengthening education, attracting investment infrastructure, building more housing and planning for the future.
Mr Tate said he could already see that there were “challenges within lots of the local communities”.
He added: “I picked out the affordable housing one because I think that’s a stark one that explains some of the fundamental disconnect that exits. I have no solutions but I am keen to get the right people around the table and have conversations about how we can fix some of these problems.”
Badenoch and Strathspey councillor Gregor Rimell raised concerns over government planning guidelines.
He said: “The guidelines now say that if you cannot, within the national park, provide enough housing then it’s okay if you put 100 houses in, for example, Tomatin. You will get support from all of the members that affordable housing should stay in the park.”
Mr Tate agreed saying lower-wage employers are often working three or four jobs in the national park area soit was not good for them to have to live 20 or 30 miles from their employment.
He said: “Businesses have said the problem is around entry-level housing, when people are looking for their first house to start a family. They can’t do it locally and they have to move so the skills that local businesses have invested in are lost - not just from the business but from the park.”
The Cairngorms Business Partnership is the marketing organisation for the national park.
The member-led private sector organisation previously received funding from the Cairngorms National Park Authority but the funding has reduced.
Mr Tate said the directors have been “re-examining its focus and finances” and the vast majority of funding now comes from the private sector.
The organisation operates the Visit Cairngorms website, a Facebook page with 30,000 followers and the Visit Cairgorms Twitter feed, which has 9000 followers. It also produces a monthly magazine and an annual publication.
