Cairngorms (Hansard, 24 May 1988)

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to alter the national planning guidelines on skiing to allow a road to be built into the northern corries area of the Cairngorms.

§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department treats the Cairngorms as qualifying for designation under the World Heritage convention; and if he will make a statement.

§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
My right hon. and learned Friend has received a recommendation from the Nature Conservancy Council, supported by the Countryside Commission for Scotland, that the Cairngorms should be inscribed on the World Heritage list. The recommendation is being considered in the light of the criteria for natural sites set by the World Heritage convention. My right hon. and learned Friend will announce his decision in due course. The status of the Cairngorms as a national scenic area, and of large parts of it as national nature reserve or as sites of special scientific interest, already provide protection for the special qualities of the area.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Cairngorms will be notified as a special protection area under the European Community directive on the conservation of wild birds (EC 79/409); and whether the area notified will include the northern corries site of special scientific interest.

§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
I understand that it is the Nature Conservancy Council's intention to put forward detailed advice to the Secretary of State later this year on the classification of the Cairngorms as a special protection area under EC directive 79/409, and that the council may recommend inclusion of the northern corries site of special scientific interest within the area to be classified. I cannot say when the Secretary of State will thereafter reach a decision.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to the number of days that the main Cairngorm chairlift was operating each month during the period April to October, inclusive, for each of the past five years; and if he will list the number of chairlift tickets sold in each month during the last five years.
122W

§ Mr. Lang
These are operational and commercial matters concerning the Cairngorm Chairlift Company which is a private enterprise.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to what guidance is given to visitors using the Cairngorm chairlifts in order to reduce damage inflicted upon sensitive plants and wild animals in the Cairngorms.

§ Mr. Lang
The chairlifts are operated by the Cairngorm Chairlift company which is a private enterprise. The hon. Member may wish to note, however, that the Highlands and Islands Development Board as owner of the Cairngorm Estate has recently published a management plan, which sets out its policies for managing the estate. A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

§ Dr. Godman
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of what steps have been taken, or are planned, by the chairlift operators as landowners of the Cairngorm skiing grounds to reduce damage by visitors to sensitive plants and wild animals found on the Cairngorm plateau; and if he will specify how much has been spent in these matters in each of the past five years.

§ Mr. Lang
The skiing area is leased to the Cairngorm Chairlift Co. Ltd. by the Highlands and Islands Development Board. The board and the company have no direct responsibility for conservation of the Cairngorm plateau. This is owned privately and, as a national nature reserve, is the subject of a management agreement with the Nature Conservancy Council.