Future ownership of Cairngorm estate

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will begin talks with Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and the Scottish Executive in the New Year to explore the possibility of transferring ownership of Cairngorm estate from HIE to the Commission.

In July this year HIE appointed land management specialists Bidwells to determine the full range of potential ownership options for the Cairngorm estate and assess their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Following detailed research, which included consultation with bodies with an interest in the estate, Bidwells concluded that FCS represents the most viable current option to take over ownership for the public benefit.

At a meeting of the HIE board this week it was agreed to further explore these recommendations.

The 1,418-hectare estate - which  includes the mountain peak of Cairn Gorm - was earmarked for winter sports development and transferred to HIE's predecessor body, the Highlands and Islands Development Board in 1971 by the then-Scottish Office.

Around a third of the estate is currently leased to CairnGorm Mountain Ltd, operators of the ski area and mountain railway, which opened in 2002.

HIE's policy on its property and land holdings is not to remain a long-term landlord, but to dispose of properties it no longer needs, recycling the money it raises into new development projects.