The Scottish Government

Name

Mr. Roy Madden

Job title

Organisation

Angus Council, Infrastructure Services, Planning & Transport Division

Address

County Buildings, Market Street, Forfar, DD8 3LG

Telephone

01307 473371

Fax

01307 461895

Email

Maddenr@angus.gov.uk

1 Aberdeenshire Council

2 Upper Deeside Access Trust

3

4

5

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Development Plans Development Management Development on the Ground Community Involvement

Title of entry

Eastern Cairngorms Access Project

Professional knowledge Innovation Management Sustainable development

Partnership Community interest Regeneration Customer satisfaction

The project was a £2.5M programme of restoration of some 26 Kms of the most popular but most damaged mountain paths in the Angus Glens and Upper Deeside. It also created and improved almost 150 Kms of path networks both in the glens and in the burghs close to the glens together with signage and guidance leaflets. Ancillary work to provide improved visitor facilities was also carried out. The work was carried out over a 225,000 hectare area which makes up 60% of what is now the Cairngorms National Park and was linked to a co-ordinated marketing and promotion campaign including a 50 page activity Guide to make the public aware of the attractions of the area while encouraging responsible access to enjoy the environment.

The Project was carried out by a partnership of 12 Public and Private bodies led by Angus & Aberdeenshire Councils and the Upper Deeside Access Trust ( UDAT).

The Eastern Cairngorms are made up of the Upper Deeside and Angus Glens and form the Eastern Gateway to the Cairngorms National Park. They attract some 400,000 visitors per year who come to enjoy the unique landscape, natural habitats and environment as well as the cultural heritage and the wide range of sporting opportunities available. The sustained recreational use of the area coupled with natural processes had resulted in significant damage at a landscape scale. The area's economy is underpinned by recreational tourism so preservation of the natural heritage was essential for the continued well being of the area. The Eastern Cairngorms are part of the largest area of wild landscape over 1000m in Great Britain so natural regeneration is very slow. Selective, sensitive protection was therefore necessary to allow the landscape to recover while encouraging continued public enjoyment of the environment. Because of the scale of the problem a number of public agencies became involved and by working jointly were able to tackle the problems at a strategic level and attract sufficient funding from their combined resources to be able to address the challenges adequately.

Sensitive repair, reconstruction & landscaping of 26 Kms of upland paths especially the links between Deeside & the Angus Glens

Development of 14 high quality paths and links between and within the glens involving the creation, upgrading and signing of 80 Kms of circular walks & cycle routes through pine and birchwood, loch & river scenery.

Development of 5 low ground community path networks with the creation, upgrading and signing of almost 60 Kms of walks, trails, bridle and cycle routes including 2 Kms of all abilities paths.

Creation, upgrading and signing of 10 car/cycle parks and picnic areas at key access points into the countryside.

Development of information guides and interpretive boards supported by a website ( www.Visitcairngorms.com) to provide a gateway to the wider information available about the area.

The inception, planning and development of the project took place over the 4 years from 1999 to 2003 while the project was executed between 2003 & 2007. During the initial period the two Councils were independently seeking to address the challenges of regenerating the physical fabric of the highly sensitive environment whilst promoting the sustainable use of the natural heritage of the area. It soon became clear that they and other agencies had similar aims for the area which could only be achieved if tackled at a strategic level leading to the creation of the Eastern Cairngorms partnership. The Councils were joined by representatives from UDAT, SNH Grampian & Tayside, Grampian & Tayside Tourist Boards, Grampian & Tayside Local Enterprise Companies and the Cairngorms Partnership as it was then. During the development phase of the project the Tourist Boards were amalgamated into a single body, Visit Scotland, and the Cairngorms National Park came into being. These events did not however alter the aims of the project or its delivery mechanism.

Due to the scale and complexity of the project, and the number of funding partners involved, a clear and effective management structure was required for the planning and execution of the project as well as its coordination, management and financial control. A key part of this was to establish three levels of communication; a twice yearly strategic group of senior representatives of the lead organisations - the Partnership Steering Group, a quarterly monitoring group of the funders - the Project Coordination Group, and a Project Coordinator to help pull together the various activities across the Eastern Cairngorms.

A legal memorandum of agreement was entered into by the three lead bodies (the Upper Deeside Access Trust, Aberdeenshire and Angus Councils) setting out their joint responsibilities for managing and delivering the ECAP programme.

The three main partners designed, tendered, let and supervised over 35 contracts to execute the various parts of the project from path construction to leaflet printing. The partners regularly consulted on topics particularly where one had more experience or expertise in a particular field to ensure consistency across the project but also to ensure that the best practices were being adopted and resources were being used effectively. As much of the area is a SAC and latterly within the Cairngorms National Park, the quality of design was paramount. Several otter surveys had to be undertaken to unsure there was no disturbance and the potential impact on salmon and fresh water pearl mussels on river routes close to waterways assessed. The project staff employed by the Councils and UDAT also contributed to other parts of the project providing both information and guidance for marketing and interpretation work which proceeded in parallel with the construction. Their progress reports enabled the partners so see how the project was benefiting their strategies and ensure that funding requirements were met.

The impact of the Project has been immense with over 174km of paths and cycle routes created or upgraded across the area. This includes 26km of mountain paths that have been restored, 86km of circular walks and cycle routes created within the glens and 62km of community path networks. This is coupled with appropriate signage, car parking, site information and promotion to help visitors find their way around the area. The impact on tourism has also been significant. The Project directly created three new jobs, sustained an additional 42 full time equivalent jobs engaged in implementing the Project and sustained or created 144 FTE tourism jobs indirectly in small and medium sized enterprises. It is estimated that an additional 29,000 visitors came to the area over the three years of the Project, resulting in additional expenditure of nearly £718,000 and 24 new jobs being created.

The project should be considered for the Development on the Ground category as it is believed to be unique in Scotland both in terms of the nature and scale of the works and the number of partners involved. Much of the work was carried out in highly environmentally sensitive areas requiring great skill and sensitivity on the part of the project team and the various contractors employed. The project has achieved its primary aim of enhancing and protecting the exceptional natural heritage whilst helping to underpin the sustainable economic development of the Eastern Cairngorms. It involved the co-ordination of 12 public and private sector partners with diverse aims & objectives but was, nonetheless, successfully completed within budget and within the time and environmental constraints applying. The lead partners successfully co-ordinated and managed a wide range of contracts involving 25 contractors and consultants meeting the stringent requirements of the various regulatory bodies, landowners and the key project funders. The contracts on the ground were scattered over a wide area, but still achieved a high standard of consistency and workmanship.

27 August 2007