Written Answers
The Cairngorms: Chairlift Company's Day Lodge
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm the report in the
Glasgow Herald of 19 November 1982 that the Highlands and Islands Development Board is asking the Government to approve expenditure of approximately £650,000 to complete the construction of the Cairngorm Chairlift Company's day lodge, because the company is unable itself to provide the finance.
My department is considering a proposal by the Highlands and Islands Development Board that the board should acquire the day lodge on Cairngorm from the Cairngorm Chairlift Company Limited and complete its construction.
The Cairngorms: Coire Cas/Coire Na Ciste Ski Road
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that a ski road in the Cairngorms connecting Coire Cas with Coire na Ciste that was built last year with public funds provided by the Highlands and Islands Development Board is now in a state of disrepair, and whether they will state the estimated cost to public funds of restoring the road.
I understand from the Highlands and Islands Development Board that some damage occurred to the road surface during the winter of 1981–82 and that the necessary repairs were carried out in the spring of 1982 at a cost of £7,400.
The Cairngorms: Proposed Coire Cas/Lurcher's Gully Road
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state the estimated cost to public funds of constructing a ski road from Coire Cas to the Cairngorm Chairlift Company's proposed new 'ski-ing development in Lurcher's Gully, and whether they are satisfied that the proposed road from Coire Cas to Lurcher's Gully will withstand the rigours of the Cairngorm environment better than the road from Coire Cas to Coire na Ciste has done.
In 1981, it was estimated that an access road to Lurcher's Gully would cost between £490,000 and £700,000, at a standard sufficient to withstand the severe weather conditions in the Cairngorms. Whether such a road should be given planning permission is among the questions before my right honourable friend the Secretary of State as a result of the application by the Cairngorm Chairlift Company for approval of various facilities for downhill ski-ing in the northern corries of Cairngorm. My right honourable friend hopes to make his decision known very shortly.
The Cairngorms: Lurcher's Gully Ski-Ing Development
asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to announce their decision on the proposals to expand ski-ing developments at Lurcher's Gully in the Cairngorms.
My right honourable friend is considering the report of the public local inquiry into the proposals and expects to annouce his decision shortly.