Glen Affric, where car parking charges are planned. Photo: Matthew Cross CC-BY-SA-2.0

Forestry bosses have said they will delay introducing controversial car-parking charges at a glen used by outdoor enthusiasts.

Forestry Commission Scotland said it had decided to postpone charging at Glen Affric and another site on the Black Isle to allow meetings with interested parties.

The commission said this would allow it to explain the rationale behind the fees.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland criticised the car parking fees and the fact no consultation had taken place.

An FCS spokesperson said: “We accept that more could have been done to appraise local people and stakeholders of our national car parking strategy so we’re looking to remedy that. It will also allow us to hear and consider local views and concerns.

“The installation of payment meters and signage is underway but we will not implement the introduction of charging until stakeholders have had an opportunity to feed into the process.

“The team in our local office will be in touch with relevant stakeholders to arrange meetings and to seek views and feedback.”

A statement from the MCofS said: “Their action appears to be in response to criticism from ourselves, local residents and local tourism organisations.

“We also learned that [a] newspaper had received a number of complaints and enquiries regarding the proposed imposition of car parking charges at Forest Enterprise car parks in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park.

“While we don’t know for sure, Forest Enterprise plans appear to be part of a national strategy to introduce car parking charges across Scotland.

“While we understand that the introduction of car parking charges has been ‘postponed’ pending a consultation process, our view is that a decision – to implement or not – should only be made once Forest Enterprise has engaged fully with interested parties and understood their concerns.

“We hope that the consultation process will be a real and genuine effort to engage, rather than simply a means to an end, which results in the plan to impose charging going ahead regardless.”

David Gibson: 'security implications'

The MCofS, which represents mountaineers, climbers and hillwalkers north of the border, said Forestry Commission Scotland has not thought through plans to charge the public in Glen Affric, which they described as one of Scotland’s finest glens.

MCofS chief officer David Gibson said earlier: “We are not against voluntary car parking charges where there is evidence that the funds will be used to support footpath or environmental work.

“Those criteria do not appear to be relevant in this case. There is simply no alternative parking place and we are also concerned at the security implications for someone who wishes to park their vehicle for more than one day and who is required by FCS to display a parking ticket which advertises their return date.”

• The River Affric car park remains closed for resurfacing work from until 30 March with both the car park and Chisholme Bridge, on the road into the glen both shut.