The Highland Council secured a grant of £46,000 from the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme in January 2003. The purpose of this grant was to:-
- install an All-Abilities trail in Ballachulish Quarry
- install people counting facilities
- design and install an Interpretation Trail with picnic locations
- design and distribute marketing materials
- install Thistle signage
- undertake an Economic Impact Appraisal before and after.
These works had been identified by the local community as being desirable, and meeting their wishes to see more being made of the disused quarry as a recreational facility. Work on the implementation of the project began immediately upon notification of the grant award. Specifications for the various elements of the works were prepared, and meetings held with Ballachulish and Glencoe Community Council to ensure that they were happy with the proposed outcomes. The Community Council were heavily and usefully involved in all aspects of the project from start to completion. It is unlikely that the project could have been successfully implemented without their input.
The Path Works
This specification was prepared on a "Design and Build" basis. Requirements for the design were set, for example that it should meet, as a minimum, the BT Countryside for All Accessibility Standards. In particular, it was specified that as much use as possible had to be made of existing quarry waste within the site, given that the trail interprets the history of the slate quarry. Ballachulish is of course, famous world-wide for its slate, which covers the roofs on many houses around Scotland, the rest of Britain and beyond. It was also felt that using slate as a major component of the build would lead to a more sustainable trail.
On completion of the specification, specialist path contractors were invited to tender for the works. This resulted in David Burton Contractors Ltd being appointed. A quick start was made on site by the team, given the time constraints in place. The scale of the works resulted in the team being on site for nearly two months. The new path follows existing desire lines, and three resting places were installed at locations along the path, with accessible picnic benches. These were constructed of natural stone in order to emphasise the geological feature that the quarry represents. The path route also had to take into account the need for occasional vehicular access to the quarry (most often for Army training) and for this reason a section of path was built on each side of the usual vehicle route to avoid vehicles damaging the path.
People Counter
At the entrance to the site a people counter was installed, to enable the Council to measure if the use of the site does increase with better advertising of the improved facilities. The local Countryside Ranger along with the Community Council monitored the site to gather data from the counter.
Picnic sites
Three picnic sites were installed on the route of the trail as rest stops for visitors. Again, these were surfaced to enable All-Abilities access around them, and the tables installed at an appropriate height to enable a wheelchair to make use of the table at each end. The tables and seats were manufactured mainly from natural stone to fit within the theme of the quarry.
Interpretation Trail and Advertising
This specification was prepared on a "Design and Installation" basis. Requirements for the design were set, for example that it should meet, as a minimum, best practice interpretive standards as set by the Highland Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. Promote, a local design firm, were appointed after a formal tendering process, and worked closely with the Community Council and other knowledgeable local people on the design and text. Six interpretive panels were produced for the trail, along with a marketing leaflet and poster. The leaflets and posters were distributed by a local company to various tourism outlets along the A82 corridor from Glasgow to Inverness, and along the A9 corridor from Perth to Inverness
Economic Impact Appraisal
This was by far the most problematic element of the work, as it proved practically impossible to find a Consultant prepared to undertake the work. Finally at a very late stage the Council managed to appoint Rowan Tree Consulting. All of the survey work was undertaken before the trail was completed and marketed, so the results of the study would provide the baseline against which another study 2 years later could be compared.
Thistle Signage
Approval to use the Thistle signage for the site was given by Visit Scotland. Thistle signage is known to be a valuable tool in increasing visitor numbers. The process of installing the signage took longer than expected due to the time involved in obtaining written permission for the signs to be installed on the trunk road.
Acknowledgements
The Highland Council was grateful for the grant award, without which it would not have been possible to carry out the upgrade. D. Burton Contractors Ltd proved to be extremely able, and efficient, working with a minimum of supervision, and responding positively to any change requests. The Council was delighted with the very high quality path which resulted from their work, and also appreciated the contributions of Promote and Rowan Tree Consulting. Finally, the Council acknowledged the heavy and committed input of Ballachulish and Glencoe Community Council.
Contact
The Highland Council, Planning and Development Services, Glenurquart Road, Inverness IV3 5NX
Telephone: 01463 702252
www.highland.gov.uk