Board Meeting - December 2021

This document contains the agenda for the Cairngorms National Park Authority board meeting on 10 December 2021. The meeting will be held via video conferencing. The agenda includes items such as welcome, apologies, declarations of interest, approval of minutes from the last meeting, a chief executive officer (CEO) report, a discussion on managing visitors in 2021, a decision on the Corporate Plan 2023 to 2027 Development Timetable, information on the Cairngorms Green Recovery Fund, and draft minutes of board committees. The date and venue of the next meeting, scheduled for 11 March 2022, is to be confirmed.

This document contains the CEO report and convener update for the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), dated 10 December 2021. It covers various areas including conservation efforts like the Cairngorms Nature Recovery Fund and the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project, alongside woodland and peatland restoration. The report also discusses visitor experiences, such as improvements to long distance routes like the Speyside Way and Deeside Way, and initiatives like "Tread Lightly in the Park" to promote responsible outdoor access. Other key points include community-led housing delivery, economic and tourism action plans, stakeholder engagement, staff updates, and the CNPA's involvement in various partnerships and policy development areas.

This document contains a summary of the work done in 2021 to manage visitors in the Cairngorms National Park, along with plans for 2022. The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) worked with various partners to encourage visitors to respect and enjoy the park. This included setting up partnership groups to address challenges arising from Covid-19, increasing ranger presence, improving visitor infrastructure like car parks and toilets, and enhancing communication efforts. The CNPA also secured funding to train rangers through the Kickstart scheme. Key priorities for 2022/23 include updating visitor management plans, streamlining partnership groups, investing in infrastructure, and promoting consistent messaging on responsible access.

This document contains a formal paper from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) regarding the development timetable for their Corporate Plan from 2023 to 2027. Prepared by David Cameron, Director of Corporate Services, the paper outlines the strategic context, policy considerations, and risk management related to the plan. The Park Authority Board is asked to agree to the timetable for the development of the 2023 to 2027 Corporate Plan and the transitional arrangements for corporate planning over 2022/23. The paper also includes a proposed corporate plan development timetable in Annex 1, with key actions and linkages/dependencies identified for each quarter from 2021/22 Q3 to 2022/23 Q4.

This document contains information for the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board about the Cairngorms Green Recovery Fund. The fund was created to support the recovery of the Cairngorms National Park, its communities, and businesses from the impacts of COVID-19. Phase 1 of the fund launched in August 2020 and provided £100,000 from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and £30,000 from the Cairngorms Trust to support 13 projects. Phase 2 of the fund had a budget of £300,000, with £250,000 from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and £50,000 from the Cairngorms Trust, supporting 28 projects.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board Committee meetings, which took place on 29 October 2021. Alix Harkness, Clerk to the Board, prepared the minutes, and they are currently being reviewed by Committee Chairs, but the Committees haven't adopted them yet. The Board is being asked to note the draft minutes of these meetings, which include minutes from the Resources Committee, Performance Committee, Governance Committee, and Audit & Risk Committee.