WARNING - By their nature, text files cannot include scanned images and tables. 
The process of converting documents to text only, can cause formatting changes and 
misinterpretation of the contents can sometimes result. Wherever possible you 
should refer to the pdf version of this document.


CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 
FINANCE COMMITTEE 
MINUTES 23/02/07 

MINUTES of MEETING of the 
FINANCE COMMITTEE of 


THE CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 
held at Cairngorm Hotel, Aviemore 
on 23 February 2007 


Present: 

Eleanor Mackintosh 	Bruce Luffman 
David Green 		Gregor Rimell 
David Selfridge 


In Attendance: 

Jane Hope, Chief Executive 
David Cameron, Head of Corporate Services 
Denby Pettitt, Finance Manager 
Patricia Hamilton, Leader+ Manager 
Pete Crane, Senior Visitor Services Officer 


Apologies: 

None 


Welcome 

1. The Chairperson welcomed all present to the meeting, and noted there were no 
apologies received. David Selfridge was not present at the start of the meeting but 
expected. 


Minutes of Previous Meeting 

2. On paragraph 5 of the minutes of the previous meeting, of 1 December 2006, members 
agreed that the elements noted of the Monitor Farm project were requirements rather 
than desirable elements. 


Matters Arising 

3. On Paragraph 24, David Cameron informed members he was aware officers in the 
Visitor Services and Recreation Group were considering the Authority’s potential 
involvement with NESTOUR on the Highland Tourist Route. He expected a more 
formal update to come from officers in due course. 

4. With regard to the cost of the PGA contract to the Authority in 2006/07 (paragraph 19 
of previous minutes), David Cameron confirmed that there was no scope to 
renegotiate the charge for the year. However, officers were looking in detail at the 
charging model for 2007/08 with a view to adapting practice and minimising the 
charge for future years. 


Approval of New Expenditure Proposal: Ceilidh Trail (Paper 1) 

5. Patricia Hamilton outlined the details of the Ceilidh Trail project put forward for 
consideration. The objective of the project was to offer professional development and 
performance opportunities to local young musicians, supporting the culture of the 
area and through that, potentially enhancing cultural tourism opportunities. Project 
delivery would be supported by a project coordinator. 

6. Members discussed the suitability of the project across the entirety of the Park as 
envisaged, in light of the mix of cultural tradition between the East and West areas of 
the Park. Members noted on this point that Feis Spe, who would take the lead on 
project delivery, would develop the project more as an introduction to Gaelic rather 
than promoting Gaelic above all other cultural aspects within the Park. Only a few 
Feis projects were based solely on Gaelic, with the focus for projects more on music 
than language. [David Selfridge arrived during this point of the discussion.] 

7. Members noted that the location for the project coordinator would depend to an extent 
on the home location of the successful candidate. The project coordinator would be 
responsible for selecting both the young people participating in the project and the 
trainers to be used with them. These projects typically attracted very good quality 
trainers. 

8. Members highlighted that it would be good to see local authorities also contributing to 
this project and asked for clarification on how communities were being consulted on 
the project. Officers responded that local authorities had been approached for 
financial support but, to date, none was forthcoming. Consultation was being 
undertaken primarily with musical groups, and the project was seeking to be sensitive 
to those musicians who sought to make an economic return from their music. 

9. Members agreed to approve the establishment of a budget allocation for the project 
as sought in the paper. Members also agreed that the support for the project, and 
the project’s terms of reference, should explicitly recognise the need for the project 
to address the cultural diversity of the area. The Coordinator’s annual reports 
should also be explicit in reporting how this sensitive aspect of the project delivery 
is addressed. 


Ratification of Previously Approved Expenditure Proposals (Paper 2) 

10. Members approved the expenditure proposals which had been agreed between 
Committee meetings, in line with the Committee’s agreed scheme of delegation. 

11. Members noted that the current arrangements for considering confirmation of budget 
allocations appeared to be working relatively well. 


Outturn for 10 Months to January 2007 (Paper 3) 

12. Denby Pettitt introduced this paper, which set out an update on the Authority’s 
financial performance against budget over the 10 months to the end of January 2007. 
At the end of this period, actual expenditure was £327,000 below budget, with 
£263,000 of this accounted for by expenditure on Operational Plan activities and the 
balance of £64,000 relating to “core” costs. 

13. Denby highlighted that he had recently completed a third review of the status of 
Operational plan activities and associated budget deployment. This review continued 
to suggest that expenditure would return close to budgeted levels by the end of the 
financial year. Denby and the finance team would now focus in particular on the 30 
key Operational Plan activities, in terms of the amount of outstanding expenditure 
these represented, in order to seek to bring year end income and expenditure position 
as close to the planned budget position as possible. 

14. Members discussed the balance to be struck by officers in seeking approval to budget 
proposals at a stage which retained sufficient flexibility for members to be able to fully 
consider options without affecting the Authority’s standing with potential project 
partners were the activity to not be funded. At the same time, proposals had to be 
sufficiently well worked up to allow officers to properly advise on the potential project 
implications and risks. All present agreed this was a difficult balance and one which, 
on the whole, was currently being achieved. 

15. Members noted the update, and welcomed the close monitoring of the financial 
position as a whole, and of projects showing significant variations from budget in 
particular, undertaken by the Finance team. 


Expenditure Proposal: Laggan Wolftrax Phase 2 (Paper 4) 

16. Pete Crane introduced this proposal for support of a second phase development at 
Laggan Wolftrax, following on from a very positive outcome to date from phase 1 in 
terms of visitor numbers and jobs created. 

17. In discussion, members noted that the expenditure proposal put forward for 
consideration highlighted that consultants had been engaged to consider the degree to 
which phase 1 of the project had achieved its original objectives. This review had 
included consideration of the potential economic displacement arising from the first 
phase of the project. The report had highlighted over £0.25m in additional 
expenditure within the local economy arising from the project, with some potential 
economic displacement around the catering aspect of the operation. A separate 
economic displacement study would be undertaken if any further extension to the on 
site café were proposed as part of the second phase project. 

18. The proposal was for CNPA funding of £30,000 towards a total project cost of 
£322,000, both the project and the Authority’s contribution being split across 2006/07 
and 2007/08 financial years. 

19. Members agreed the expenditure proposal. 


AOCB 

20. No further items of business were raised. 


Date of Next Meeting 

21. The next meeting of the Finance Committee was scheduled to take place on 15 June 
2007, Panmure Arms Hotel, Edzell.