A charity has hit out at a “ridiculous” claim by a councillor it should fund repairs to a road damaged by tourists visiting the Skye Fairy Pools.
John Finlayson, chair of Highland Council’s Isle of Skye committee, says the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (Oats) is partly to blame for the number of visitors to the beauty spot.
Oats runs the parking and toilet facilities built at the site six years ago to solve parking chaos along the tiny access road.
The Highland Independent councillor now claims the charity should contribute to the funding of much-needed road repairs because “they are making a fortune out of the car park”.
Oats says it has been left stunned by the councillor’s comments, branding them “ridiculous”.
Councillor accuses charity of ‘creating the problem’ at Skye Fairy Pools
About 200,000 people visit the Fairy Pools every year, which is more than 15 times the population of Skye.
Glen Brittle, the single-track C-road that leads to the site, is badly deteriorated and is said to cause dozens of car flat tyres each week.
Mr Finlayson has accused Oats of “creating the problem”.
He said: “We feel that if there wasn’t a car park, and facilities hadn’t been developed, people wouldn’t be going there.
“Oats have got to take some kind of responsibility and work in partnership with the council and other agencies to fund improvements.
“They are creating the problem; they are making massive amounts of money but they’re not accepting any responsibility for the fact that the issue is folks going to see that particular tourist site.
“They have tried to apportion blame elsewhere without putting forward any action in terms of resource given the massive amount of money they are making.”
In response, Oats says it hardly makes any profit from running the facilities.
Oats brands councillor’s Fairy Pool claims ‘disturbing’
Oats says this is the first year it has made a profit after investing nearly £500,000 in the creation of the car park, which came from its own money and donations.
The charity, which has fewer than 10 staff members, pays more than £30,000 in rent each year for the car park site to a Skye community organisation which uses the money to help local people.
Duncan Bryden, chair of Oats’ volunteer board, says the law forbids charities from doing work the council is responsible for – such as road repairs.
He said: “It’s unclear where this idea has come from beyond some misguided preconception that Oats has some substantial surpluses being generated by the Fairy Pools.
“There’s a strikingly questionable principle here of businesses or charities being coerced into contributing to the roads’ upkeep, and that’s something we find quite disturbing.”
He says any surplus made by the organisation is used to maintain paths on Skye and elsewhere across the Highlands.
He also says Oats staff regularly help people with sorting flat tyres and spend large amounts of time directing traffic and helping cars stuck in the mud.
Ali Campbell, Oats’ Fairy Pools site manager, said: “We are suffering from a massive gridlock, and staff are doing way more than they should have to.
“We often don’t get away ourselves until 9pm at night because of the road.
“The charity was trying to help the community, and the council has a statutory obligation to maintain that road.”
She said the suggestion Oats has created the problem on the road is “ridiculous”.
Highland Council ‘working on solutions’
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “Council officers are working on potential visitor management solutions and exploring funding streams to help alleviate some of the pressures which are currently being experienced in the Skye area.”
Mr Finlayson says the council will still act on the road, whether Oats contributes or not, and is seeking cash from the Scottish Government’s Islands Infrastructure fund.
However, he says more could be done if Oats chipped in.
Conversation