Case studies of EIA in practice - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 282

9.6.4 Visitor management and mitigation measures
The Section 50 agreement attached to the planning approval is a legally binding
agreement between the planning authority, in partnership with SNH, and the
developer/operator and landowner. The agreement provides for (Highland Council 2003):
• a baseline survey of current environmental conditions and visitor usage in the wider
locality;
• an implementation plan providing details of the timing and means of implementation of
the development with particular reference to reinstatement following construction;
• an annual monitoring regime to identify changes and establish causes and consequences
[the first monitoring report has been prepared and is under discussion];
• an annual assessment by the operator of any actions necessary to ensure acceptable
impacts to the European designated conservation sites on the summit plateau;
• fall-back responsibilities in the event of default; and
• eventual site restoration if public use of the development ceases.
The Cairngorm Funicular Railway VMP was produced in the context of this agreement.
The objective of the VMP is to protect the integrity of the adjacent areas which have been
designated or proposed under the European Habitats and Birds Directives from the
potential impacts of non-skiing visitors as a direct consequence of the funicular
development. The VMP has gone through several stages and was subject to a short period
of public consultation in 2000. Many issues have been raised, including the innovative or
repressive (according to your perspective) “closed system”, and the associated
monitoring arrangements (SNH 2000).
The closed system, whereby non-skiing visitors are not allowed access to the
Cairngorm plateau from the Ptarmigan top station, is a key feature of the VMP. Instead
visitors must be content with a range of inside interpretative displays, access to an outside
viewing terrace—us, of course, shopping, catering and toilet facilities! This system
proved very contentious, and received considerable criticism, in the public consultation
on the VMP. Some saw it as violating the freedom to roam; for others, it was a cynical
device for extracting economic benefit in shops and catering outlets. Others considered it
unnecessary, given the recent improved pathway from the Ptarmigan top station to the
summit of Cairngorm, as noted by one respondent—“For years I have been advocating
stone paths. People use the paths and the ground round about recovers. Now that the path
up to the summit is pretty well complete most people will be barred from using it!” (SNH
2000). Another issue has been how to allow ingress to the facilities of the top station
from non-railway-using walkers on the plateau, whilst preventing egress from non-
walkers. Alternatives have been suggested to the closed system including ranger-led
walks and time-limited access, but the system is now in place and is part of a 25-year
agreement. The guide leaflet for the funicular users includes the following:
Protecting the Mountain Environment: large areas of the fragile landscape
and habitats of the Cairngorms are protected under European Law.
Cairngorm Mountain Limited is committed to ensuring that recreational
activities are access the high mountain plateau beyond the ski area at any
time. Outwith the environmentally sustainable. For this reason the
Railway cannot be used to ski season, visitors are required to remain