Work starts on Fairy Pools car park and toilets
Work has started to create 130 car parking spaces, toilets and visitor information at the Fairy Pools on Skye.
The work will be carried out in two phases enabling the attraction to remain open to the public while under construction, with the entire site due to be completed early next year.
With visitor numbers to the Fairy Pools well in excess of 100,000 per year, the road and area around the attraction has struggled to cope, with vehicles parked on verges causing obstruction and litter issues.
Nick Duffill, trustee of the Minginish Community Hall Association (MCHA) which has taken ownership of the car park site from Forestry Enterprise Scotland, said: ‘We are delighted to have completed the transfer of the Fairy Pools car park to the local community as this will enable us to work in partnership with the Outdoor Access Trust Scotland to realise wider benefits for the community and the surroundings at Fairy Pools.
‘Parking is only one of the challenges faced by many of Skye’s most popular locations and, as a community organisation working together with others, we can play our part in ensuring tourism not only provides a good experience for visitors, but actively protects Skye’s most important and most fragile assets.’
Kate Forbes MSP said this long-awaited congestion solution is first and foremost for the benefit of local residents. She said: ‘The most important people are local residents, whose lives have been disrupted by crazy parking on the side of the road and thoughtless littering. I hope a new car park and toilets will resolve that.’
MCHA thanks Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council, Scottish Government, LEADER, Scottish Land Fund, Forest Enterprise Scotland, Macleod Estate and local tourism businesses for their funding and support.