Calls for Cairngorm beauty spots parking charges to be scrapped

A call has been made to stop more car parking charges being introduced at beauty spots in the Cairngorms, amid fears that there will soon be nowhere to park for free.

A green ticketing machine has now been installed at Inshriach car park by Glenfeshie with charges ranging from £8 a day for a minibus or coach and £2 a day for cars.

The charges will be introduced by Forestry Commission Scotland on April 1, for £1 for up to one hour and £1.50 for three hours. Motorists are warned on the ticket machine that charges will be enforced.

The move follows the end of remaining free parking at car parks in Glenmore in January, earlier this year, which sparked concerns about the impact on tourism.

One of those concerned is Aviemore man Rod Webster, who said: "There are no special tracks or paths leading from the Inshriach car park to warrant charges to support them.

"In trying to justify the charges, the Forestry Commission states that people should be grateful for the views but the countryside has been here since time immemorial."

Mr Webster, who has been involved with local access issues for many years, said places like the Lake District already charged visitors substantial amounts for parking anywhere.

He said: "When people come up to Scotland from down south to the wild places they are going to increasingly find themselves paying parking charges.

"We have to try to stop this trend before it gets worse, as some farmers and landowners in Scotland are also charging people for parking as they do down south. Apart from the fact access to the countryside should be free, it’s only going to deter tourists."

He added: "If I want to walk my dog every day and park at Inshriach that could now cost me well over £700 a year. As a local person, the Forestry Commission might give me a discount but that’s not the point.

"Those who control the car parks at these beauty spots control the access to them. I personally have many objections for these charges on moral and commercial grounds."

Mr Webster said he had spoken recently to more than 50 people, mainly tourists, in various local car parks to get their opinions on charges.

"A few people said they might be prepared to make a donation if they could see where the money was being used," he said. "Most said they would pay charges this time but would have to consider whether to come back or go elsewhere, with many people saying they were already looking to go further North."

Jonathan Gatenby, secretary of the Aviemore Business Association, said it supported the protest at charges on the Forestry Commission car parks as they were a state-owned concern holding land in trust for the people of Scotland.

He added: "In a year when tourism is being challenged by the worst skiing season in memory, and a very poor economic outlook, do we really need to have usurious charges levied on local car parks in Glenmore?

"The car parks are rarely full and the effect of the charges, not only creating an adverse customer experience in those paying, will also force many motorists to use the verge of the road to park their cars creating a hazard for walkers, cyclists and other road users.

"The Forestry Commission need to consider the economic costs of their actions."

Kincraig Community Council - the local watchdog to Inshriach - is to make enquiries about what they said was the commission’s "surprising new policy to tax the visitors and tourists staying at their own forests".

They also questioned how much the ticketing machines had already cost the taxpayer and how the system would be monitored and enforced.

Recent parking charges proposed by the Forestry Commisson elsewhere in the Highlands have run up against a storm of protest, with the result that they postponed plans to start charging at two popular Highland sites last week.

Fees were due to be introduced at four parking areas in Glen Affric in Inverness-shire and at Learnie Forest mountain bike trails on the Black Isle on April 1.

But the commission has said it will now consult publicly on the charges after walkers and tourism businesses claimed they had not been consulted. In some areas, councillors have called for the machines to be removed.

New parking meters at the small and larger car parks by Allt Mor and at the nearby Hayfield site in Glemore were installed in January.

The introduction of the charges mean that there is no free parking at beauty spots in the Glenmore area as meters were already in place at the Forestry Commission Scotland’s Glenmore Visitor Centre, and their main parking sites by Loch Morlich and the yacht club.

A spokesperson for Forestry Commission Scotland said: "There have been car-parking meters at Glenmore Forest Park for almost 20 years during which period there has been virtually no complaints about the charging policy."

He added; "The new meter at Inshriach was installed following discussions with the trustees of the privately owned ‘Frank Bruce Sculpture Collection’.

"The trustees raised the idea of charging at this site to raise income that would help meet the costs of ongoing maintenance works that we carry out at the site, as well as the costs of a gallery.

"This fitted well with our objectives and we understand that the trust did involve local people – including Kincraig and Vicinity Community Council."

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