Etape: Damp Squib AND Short Fuse

But far from generating a new income stream, anecdotal evidence so far is that the area is out of pocket with some businesses losing thousands of pounds.
The man for whom this failure of the event as a commercial entity will be a career black spot is Ken MacDonald, P&K’s head of Economic Development. It was he who backed the plan with Messianic zeal and persuaded his council committee to allocate £20,000 to offset losses this year, with further sums in the future - if it continues.

Inbuilt Bias
He is now spending even more of our cash by hiring consultants Ekos Ltd to carry out an Economic Impact Study. People with clipboards were out on race day and some businesses have already received questionnaires.
But will Mr MacDonald’s hirelings turn in an unbiased report? So much of what they are using as base material for their research measurement actually comes from the laughably inadequate databases supplied by their client - the council itself.
There is much at stake in proving that he was right about the business benefits to our area. And judging by some of the exaggerated statements issued by P&K before the race about how much local support there was for it, we should take any official assessment with a very generous pinch of salt.
The organisers predicted 2,500 would sign up for the event and this proved to be a hugely optimistic estimate. There is little doubt that the fewer than 1,000 cyclists who completed the main route enjoyed themselves despite the rain - see 'What Was It Lycra For You, Then?' and http://www.commentonline.co.uk/voxpop/viewtopic.php?t=1466&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30, and the council was upbeat about that in its press statements.
But even if the number crunching and statistic manipulation indicate a glimmer of possible ‘success’ in the future, that would not disguise the real issue. The local authority’s handling of the overall event has caused widespread concern that purely commercial mass participation events in future require to be more carefully and democratically assessed before any go-ahead might be contemplated.

Facts & Views Gathering
Having succeeded in holding one race here, Etape Caledonia will now be arguing for making it an annual event.
Whilst this could be highly profitable for the London-based company, locally it now appears it could actually deter more tourist business than it attracts.
The Ekos impact studymen surveyed 200 spectators on the day of the event. They are also conducting a postal survey from a list of 300 businesses provided by P&K to assess effects upon their activities.
Now, to widen the discussion and to provide ‘a second opinion’, Comment has drawn up and distributed (through its sales outlets and included loose-leaf within this issue) a simple poll form to be filled and returned by 31 July for independent analysis. It can be downloaded as a PDF, printed out, filed in and returne at: Etape Caledonia Impact Poll 2007

The results will be published in the Augus edition of Comment.

One local tourist group, Explore Aberfeldy, is also asking its members to provide financial figures of what they gained - or lost - on the day.
At this group’s meeting at House of Menzies soon after the event, not one of the two dozen attending said that they had benefited, and several businesses reported substantial losses. The overall opinion was that it was wrong to hold the event in mid-summer when most accommodation was booked up already. A date in spring or autumn might, perhaps, make more sense.
Though the Tummel and Tay valleys were paralysed for most of the day of the event, it was Pitlochry that stood to benefit. The south end of the town was teaming with cyclists but there was no sign that businesses elsewhere had much extra trade.
On the 80 miles of roads that were closed to all vehicle traffic, businesses either had to shut up shop, or open for any walker who might come by.

Councillor’s Observations
One newly elected councillor, Ian Campbell, was at the Pitlochry finish line and thought the organisation “pretty good”, with competitors being cleared from the finish area fairly quickly. “The number of spectators at the finish was a bit disappointing,” he added. “Apart from a bike tent, a charity tent and a local tourist tent, there was little to keep either cyclists or spectators amused.”
“The real question now, however, is: ‘Did we in Highland Perthshire get as much out of it as the participants?’ The council has currently an analysis of the event underway and I will be at the debrief being held shortly by the council’s economic development department,” said the councillor.
“I suspect that the economic benefit of this event will be fairly small in year one, but that could improve if the event is repeated and the economic development department puts in place measures to raise awareness and interest in the event. To gain greater economic benefit we need to try and improve the course to accommodate spectators, greater involvement of local people and groups in the organisation and running of the event and more secondary activities based around the event,” he continued.
“I will also want to ensure that the council’s analysis of the event takes into account those issues that were raised prior to the event such as restrictions of movement whether they be of worshippers or those in hotels and guest houses. It will also be useful if people could participate in Comment’s own questionnaire to help establish as fully as possible the range of views surrounding the event.”
Dennys Campbell of the Pitlochry Partnership, which assisted with the organisation of the event, told Comment: “The Partnership is eagerly awaiting the outcomes of the various assessments that are being undertaken. However, the reports we have received so far indicate that the event itself was well organised and it attracted large numbers of visitors to Highland Perthshire who thoroughly enjoyed themselves despite the poor weather.
“We look forward to this event and others returning in the future and will work closely with organisers to maximise the benefits and minimise any potential inconvenience.”

‘Snow Job’
But Ian Buxton of Tomdachoille has not minced his words about the Ekos Impact study commissioned by the council. He said: “There is a higher interest than economic impact. It’s called “externality” - the harm suffered or benefit enjoyed by a 3rd party that isn’t reflected in a market transaction.
“That’s why the post-event impact analysis is a snow-job, incidentally. By concentrating on the more-or-less spurious economic impact and ignoring the externalities the real issues can be swept under the carpet.”
He expanded: “It’s not about the race, it’s about abuse of power and the accountability of those who govern us. The management of the Etape has been appalling - arrogant, short-sighted and rude. We have seen gross mis-representation, spin and high-handed indifference to the interests of minorities - by the way, that’s one of the main things a democracy is supposed to be about - the protection of minorities.”

Feedback
Duncan McDiarmid of House of Menzies by Aberfeldy sat outside his premises west of Weem and counted 816 cyclists as they came by. He gave up in the last hour as there were so few passing. He reported: “After the road closure at 10.15 there were zero competitors until 11.08am. After two bunches of 42 and 30 in quick succession early on, there was really no need at all to have any road closure, as they just came in dribs and drabs. At no time was the road as busy as it is when the locals run the Iron Man or the Triathlon – with no road closure – and no £20,000!
“The stewarding was almost non-existent – there was one steward around here, who had been recruited from Glenrothes. He appeared to have very little instruction, and was unable to give any help to one poor soul who was walking and pushing his broken down bike, he just had to continue walking on!
“Certainly the organisation was but a faint shadow, in both numbers of stewards and their efficacy, of that to which we are accustomed locally for other similar events.”
Peter Hounam, director of Grandtully Bridge Galleries, which operates Legends Coffee House, Lòchrann Arts, and Chocolatier Strathtay, was also disappointed: “Before the race I was appalled at the lack of consultation by Perth and Kinross and said so at the Aberfeldy meeting. The way the council has handled this affair raises a lot of questions about how it governs Highland Perthshire. There is a whiff of arrogance about its attitude.
“But I also said at that meeting that I expected our business to benefit. The road through Grandtully was not closed and one of the access points for spectators to see the race was across the Strathtay bridge, directly opposite our premises. And yet until the roads opened again about 3.30pm, we did no more trade than a weekday. In other words, we had less business than usual,” he said.

Shared Experience
“We have not had a questionnaire from the council, so our views will not feature in their assessment. I know our experience was mirrored by most businesses in the valley. The cycle race might be beneficial if sign-posting and marshalling was better, and if it was held in the shoulder months of the tourists season.
“But we could have told Mr MacDonald that last year when he was cooking up the idea with Etape Caledonia, if he had bothered to ask us,” he concluded.
Steve Thomas runs the Free Spirits rafting business, also in Grandtully. “The whole event has been handled appallingly by P&K,” he said, “and in my opinion residents and businesses have been treated with nothing short of contempt. Our loss, financially on the day, was in excess of £3000 and, due to this, staff were laid off.”
He maintained: “I had a number of emails to and from both Ken McDonald and Kevin Stewart (of Etape) prior to the event, and never received any satisfactory answers from either. In my view, Mr McDonald has the perfect credentials for becoming an MP as he can say so much with so little content and has an unerring ability to never answer a direct question.”
Even as late as 20 June one indignant outdoor sporting activities’ operator (Highland Perthshire is the busiest place in Scotland for such pursuits), spoke to the council’s Economic Development Department about the event. He listed the total of local outdoor activity centres, the numbers of people who come to them and the number of staff that they employ (all of whom would be doing nothing that weekend because of the event).
He reported to Comment that he was told by Ken Macdonald: “I had no idea all those things went on up there”!
Jonathon Wheeler of Perthshire Paintball was equally critical. “I took a back seat this time as I figured from everything I heard that it was going ahead, come what may. I don’t intend this to be the case from now on. As it was, the event cost me around £3,000 to £4,000 pounds in lost earnings and it will affect me again if it comes back.”
Annoyed at P&K officials, local councillors and Pitlochry community councillors for not engaging with people who had misgivings about the event, Glen Fincastle businessman John Seaton told Comment: “A pen pusher from P&K told me the council could do basically what they wanted and, if I ventured out on the road, I would be breaking the law; they had checked all this with their legal people. I informed him that they were breaching six different European Human Rights clauses on freedom of movement. He didn’t like that.
“I don’t mind things like this if organised properly and for good causes, but I do object when a company from London gets to do it for commercial gain with £20,000+ of local tax payers’ money to help out, and to hang with the locals’ daily lives and their businesses.”
Ben Henderson of Bunrannoch House, Kinloch Rannoch, forewarned the council of his dissatisfaction. He wrote: “As the proprietor of a small guest house on the route of this event the only economic impact evident to me is a negative one - cancelled bookings and loss of potential bookings of guests who do not wish eat breakfast and to leave at around 7.30 a.m. to avoid being trapped for four or more hours to watch a procession of cyclists pass the front gate.”
Some of the aforementioned have sought compensation for their losses or extra costs incurred - so far unsuccessfully.
On 22 June Ian Buxton maintained: “There is little argument for the arbitrary suspension of civil liberties and the disruption of other events and activities that have the benefit of precedence.
“Moreover, there are no grounds at all for taking such drastic action (of road closure) without full prior consultation with all those affected.”
At that juncture some residents had still to receive letters from Etape Caledonia. They remained bereft of contact even after the event was all over. One such was the long-established Coshieville B&B, slap bang at the junction of the Tummel Bridge and Fortingall roads.

Aftermath
C’llr Eleanor Howie, is a member of the Pitlochry Partnership, one of whose aims is ‘to stimulate economic and community activities in the Pitlochry area’. Before last May she was P&K councillor for the Pitlochry ward.
On 21 June she was offered by Comment the following invitation for this July edition: “As others - locally elected and otherwise - will be commenting on the event - and alluding to the processes leading up to it, and as you have to date remained silent on the latter matters, your position should be made clear to constituents - regardless of the outcome of the impact study due to be conducted.
“Should you not do so, then the assumption must be drawn that you are entirely at peace with the procedures followed by P&K, its departments and the organisers in the whole affair.
“Such a stance is, of course, fine, but you have failed to date to be as transparent on the matter as it behoves one to be who is publicly elected.”
In the run up to press she was reminded of this on three further occasions. All she would say is: “I look forward to the results of the Council’s comprehensive evaluation of this event with regard to its economic impact on the area.”
In the light of her new electoral responsibility for the care of the full 1,000 square miles of Highland Perthshire, rather than mere Pitlochry parochial interests, it is considered by some that she should surrender her position on the Pitlochry Partnership - perhaps in favour of an impartial observer such as C’llr Ian Campbell.

Thorough Review
Ian Buxton also maintained: “Representations to P&K’s Chief Executive are shrugged off and passed back to the department responsible for the debacle in the first place.
“This is an abuse of process - apppointing Ken MacDonald and his team as judge and jury in their own case. The indifference and arrogance of the Council is truly appalling.”
C’llr Ken Lyall has, throughout, been commendably forthright over the shortcomings both of P&K officers and elected members over the issue since it was brought to public light in this publication in March.
Immediately following the event, C’llr Lyall said: “What I expect to happen now is for a fairly quick debrief, a part of which would include a couple of public meetings to get a real view of the event. I would then expect comments and concerns to be taken on board.
He added: “I recognise that, from my point of view, I will have to keep my finger on the pulse with all the consultation and the actions of Etape and the Council’s Economic Development Department.
“I am guilty by implication this year. I did expect the Council’s officers and event organisers to go away in October last year, do all the consultation etc without me having to keep an eye on them, but sadly that did not happen. I will be far more vigilant this time.”
To ensure that this public debrief is both thorough, and actually seen to work, he has expressed willingness to chair any such local meetings.
Should the Economic Development department decline, then the councillor will consider convening them himself.
C’llr Lyall concluded: “I am undecided about the event, I need all the facts, not miss-truths and spin, to come to a view about next year - if it is allowed to go ahead!”
Responding to this stance, Ian Buxton urged: “A thorough enquiry is needed and the whole issue needs to start again from first principles.
“I welcome his assurance that there’s no pre-determined agenda and that he’ll keep an open mind.”

Ombudsman
Already there is some talk of there being an issue to put before the Local Authority Ombudsman. But it is recognised that any such case would be against the former administration of the council, and not that which is presently in place.
It is perfectly clear that, to get the sort of ‘real view’ described by C’llr Lyall above, will require a properly structured and trustworthily-handled feedback mechanism. This needs to be conducted in a balanced manner and headed up in liaison with local commercial and community organisations .
Through such a process there lies the potential - and great need - for a healing of the P&K body corporate in Highland Perthshire.
Handled badly, this exercise could hurl petrol on an already serious fire. So, both bravery and humility are needed to strip away arrogant, top down attitudes.
Only then might there be a chance for the restitution of some municipal faith and credibility.