A car park and public loos at Skye’s iconic Fairy Pools have been officially opened by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes.
Ms Forbes visited the facilities at Glenbrittle, which are designed to accommodate 200,000 visitors a year.
The MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch said she was delighted to have been able to support the improvements made to the infrastructure at the Fairy Pools.
She added: “Scotland has world-leading legislation giving people rights to access our countryside, but it’s important that these are exercised responsibly and with respect for others, as well as for wildlife and the land itself.
“Investing in visitor management and supporting our rural communities is a crucial part of sustainable tourism growth.”
The Fairy Pools are beautiful rock pools of crystal clear spring water fed by a series of waterfalls from the Cuillin Mountains.
An unsustainable 82,000 people visited the Fairy Pools in 2015, with more than 180,000 people recorded in 2019.
The narrow single-track access road was regularly blocked with parked cars,
verges were damaged and residents, businesses and emergency services faced daily disruption.
The lack of infrastructure and onsite facilities also led to path and habitat
degradation and litter and waste management problems.
Minginish Community Hall Association used the Community Asset Transfer scheme to acquire the land from Forestry and Land Scotland.
The car park site was leased to Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland who delivered the scheme and handle the liabilities for a 20-year period on condition that they
construct, operate and maintain the car park and toilets.
The new facilities have been open since October.
‘Far-reaching effect’
Dougie Baird, chief executive of the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland, said: “There is a long-term issue of lack of basic infrastructure at popular remote destinations throughout Scotland.
“The effects can be far reaching with disruption to community and business and damage to the very special locations that people wish to see.
“The hugely successful landlord and tenant collaboration is the perfect
model to demonstrate how effective third-sector partnerships can address these issues.”
The car park has generated revenue to pay for two full-time and eight casual support staff, the rent, PPE equipment, and further site development and
admin costs.
A defibrillator is now on the site.
The operating surplus is being re-invested as seed-corn funding for access and conservation work including for the new Skye Iconic Sites Project, and funding community benefit projects.
Community-powered
John Finlayson, chairman of Highland Council’s education committee, said: “I am delighted to see the official opening of the Fairy Pools car park and toilets take place.
“This again demonstrates the importance of partnership working involving people at the heart of a community and also stakeholders from other agencies.”
The project was funded by the Scottish Rural Development Programme (LEADER), Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Government, and the Scottish Land Fund, with additional financial support from Minginish Community Hall Association and Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland.