Brent, Rena, Jeremy, Robert, John, Mike and Allan

Carron Valley Development Group held a special committee meeting on Sunday 21st September to discuss several key issues. We now write to inform you of our decision to resign from the Carron Valley Partnership with immediate effect. It is time also to set the record straight on a number of matters both recent and historic.

Secondly, and in terms of how this decision affects the loch side trail, I spoke with Jim Graham of WREN yesterday to advise him that we are rescinding their offer of £35,000 funding. The reasons for this are outlined in detail per the enclosed letter. I have also written to North Lanarkshire Council under separate cover.

There can be no hiding from the fact that anything which could be regarded as progress at Carron Valley takes a mysterious and inexorable period of time and the multi user trail is a classic case in point. As far as we are concerned there really are no excuses and the completion date was always going to be "just around the corner."

The multi-user trail has been the final chapter in a sorry tale which is littered with incompetence, lies and deliberate time wasting. In our view there have been three strands to the Forestry Commission's "strategy" for obstructing progress at CV:

Bureaucratic mechanisms

It has been five years since CVDG, Stirling Council and Forestry Commission set out in partnership, latterly joined by North Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Water in year 2 and more recently with CSFT and Clanronald. In this time we have been forced to participate in and await the outcomes of an unprecedented (and in some cases completely unnecessary) number of studies, consultations and strategies:

• Joint council workshops
• Drop in meetings
• "Prove there's a need"
• Permissions
• FCS national strategy and local recreation strategy
• West and central Scotland Feasibility Study
• CV café feasibility study
• TRC Report and subsequent consultation - "An ambition towards a National mountain biking strategy"
• Concordats
• Project plan
• PID's
• Rational (sic)
• Project plan dressed up as a "development plan"
• MTB framework for Scotland

Chief amongst these was the now infamous Forestry Commission National MTB strategy, as this was apparently the basis upon which all future development was predicated. CVDG were first fed this line as early as June 2004 when these outputs were "imminent". In fact this strategy did recommend significant development at Carron Valley, but this dropped off the radar following a farcical "public consultation" in 2006. Naturally, the results of the consultation or indeed any outputs to justify the huge expenditure on the whole process were never published.

CVDG have yet to find a venue that has had to jump through so many hoops yet developed so little. There are several examples of projects which have received near instant sums of cash and have enjoyed a mercurial speed of progress. Despite all the talk there really is no application of consistency in FCS policy.

Whilst it is only fair to acknowledge the efforts of staff at a local level which allowed the current trails to be built, the partnership ethos was short-lived. CVDG are well aware of the fact the launch event in March 2006 was deliberately wrecked by FCS and the fact this was sanctioned at Board level. We know the then Minister for Sport, Patricia Ferguson MSP, was profoundly unhappy with Forestry Commission Scotland's conduct and it is probable the concordat and everything else following it was simply an elaborate means to justify the actions taken that day.

Of course the concordat, heralded as the fresh start and the one which would facilitate decision making and development at a local level served a dual role. It not only provided an alibi, but also a control mechanism and the precursor to the little known (but now totally discredited) PID process.

Following the crisis talks in September 2007 with FES Chief Executive, FCS sprung the "rational for investing in Carron Valley", a tactic clearly designed to destabilise the project. Conveniently, this detailed a range of reasons for not developing at Carron Valley. The inconvenient truth here is that FCS actually contradicted its own Scottish Forestry Strategy and the stated position of the Chief Executive of Central Scotland Forest Trust and FCS National Committee member Simon Rennie.

CVDG are also aware of FCS attempts to press gang Scottish Water into backing a two-tier partnership. During that meeting CVDG glimpsed another false dawn in the form of a promised "fairer agreement" and a pledge to complete the toilets "by Easter." For the record, the revised agreement as envisaged by various FCS / FES staff achieved the impossible by managing to be more restrictive and less fair than its predecessor - hence the reason we could not sign the agreement.

It remains to be seen whether the MTB framework will break new ground and actually deliver something to justify the money spent and resources used to facilitate the Perth conference. Early indicators are not looking too good - this process is already 15 months in and beyond another consultants report and a less than convincing attempt at public consultation there is very little else to show for it. The sport needs a real vision and lead partners with the drive to achieve it - none of those involved currently seem capable. FCS is not the sole problem but there persists an institutionalised dogma in matters involving tourism projects. The other partners must seek to temper this with their agendas.

Organisational incompetence

Branding

First discussed as far back as 2005 and the subject of numerous and lengthy exchanges including several meetings and "workshops". Parachuting in Fiona Murray to deflect the focus away from creating an identity for the trails was terribly unsubtle and did not go unnoticed. However it seemed to work! The site branding / signage that was steamrollered through in January 2008 by Jeremy Thompson is still not on site.

Clanranald Lease & Toilet

This has to go down as the most shameful episode in the history of FCS governance of the project. The so called lease arrangement was evidently non-existent or incompetent. The taxpaying public were supposed to benefit from an arrangement that would see a toilet block provided at no net cost to the public purse. The lack of progress on the toilet block inhibited development at the location and restricted visitor numbers. FCS is a huge organisation - they have the wherewithal to resolve such matters without reliance on such seemingly ad hoc arrangements. We can only conclude that it suited FCS purpose to leave the toilet block in a perpetual state of limbo.

Trailbuilding

The trails are now three years old, they are built on some of the most challenging terrain on the national forest estate yet they have required very little maintenance - in fact tasks carried out to date equate to little more than general housekeeping.

Despite FCS assertion that maintenance is second only to risk in terms of corporate exposure and liability, they have made it as difficult as possible for the volunteer group to organise work parties to help off-set this burden. CVDG has been subjected to constant bureaucratic tinkering with maintenance regimes and this, along with the creeping paralysis which is the hallmark of FCS governance of the project, is why there is not a single volunteer left to help maintain the trails.

Partnership working

Café

FCS commitment to rural development is enshrined in their numerous policy documents, in fact the 7Stanes phenomena is founded upon the principles of the net income generated by tourism - both day and overnight visitors. In terms of Carron Valley it was a long standing ambition of FCS and the other partners to develop a café facility at CV since the initial feasibility study concluded a trial development was justified.

When Jeremy Thompson was brought in to deliver the partnership project in 2007 he went out of his way to cultivate a relationship with his "preferred candidate" through a series of unofficial meetings. The unfortunate business partnership in question was led to believe that a golden opportunity lay just around the corner. However, when FCS finally got round to advertising for expressions of interest and the only candidate was the same business partner courted by Jeremy, they were dismissed due to a lack of experience.

CVDG find it incomprehensible this opportunity was not allowed to run its course given the business risk to the Forestry Commission was virtually zero. Regardless of CVDG view the Partnership were never consulted so we can only speculate the whole process was once again conducted as a box ticking exercise designed to serve a purpose rather than deliver any public benefit.

Press quotes

CVDG are aware of the concerted intervention of FCS Press Office on numerous occasions, most notably the blocking of the news release for the 2006 launch and the unauthorised doctoring of partner quotes during the Bikefest in 2007. FCS has consistently assumed the position of lead partner because it is the landowner - this colonial attitude disenfranchises their co-partners.

On a general note there is most obviously one rule for the Forestry Commission (the landowner) and another rule for everybody else. This is an abuse of power and position and the complete lack of transparency and partner working is evidenced by the need for members of CVDG to lodge Freedom of Information requests simply to inform their position with the partnership. It is a sad indictment that the lead partner and landowner hides behind legislation designed to promote the free flow of information, rather than willingly share this with their partners.

The legacy

In CVDG view, the long term future of Carron Valley as a recreation venue should be assured:

• There remains a dearth of adequate all-weather mtb facilities in the Central Belt
• The Carron Valley trails are without doubt the most robustly engineered examples of their type anywhere in the UK and have withstood three years of constant use with little maintenance
• There are a wide range of additional recreational activities and interests that could be served at CV
• Independent studies have unanimously backed development at this location
• Visitor numbers have been scientifically measured and are shown to be consistently high
• Visitor surveys have recorded a massive vote of confidence in the venue

The question is: will Forestry Commission and the remaining partners translate their rhetoric into actions which meet the recreational need?

On many occasions Robert Hunter has remarked that CVDG have achieved "more in five years than the local authorities have in the last thirty." Whilst we may not have achieved what we set out to do we are certain we could not have tried any harder and we are certain we could have achieved more had we been allowed to.

We acknowledge the problems between CVDG and Forestry Commission Scotland are now irreconcilable however FCS has a network of resources, time and money that could easily alter the future path of Carron Valley - not only to protect the legacy of what is currently there, but to drive the project to the success it deserves to be.

If however, FCS continue to thwart the growth of recreation at CV then the undeniable position of power cannot be left unchecked. FCS holds a privileged position of responsibility by default, you have a stranglehold on the land and natural resources which must be released if mountain biking is to continue to grow in the Central Belt.

We hope that a majority of the remaining partners will use the opportunity not only to preserve what has been created so far but also to build an environment where new community groups can flourish.

Yours Sincerely,

David Russell
Chairman
CVDG