Plans for a £200,000 mountain biking centre near Aviemore in the Cairngorms National Park have been shelved after the discovery of droppings from Scotland’s near-extinct capercaillie bird.

Backers of the centre, including Forestry Enterprise, had hoped that the miles of challenging singletrack over 1,000 acres of Glen More forest would attract mtbers in their thousands. But the presence of the protected capercaillie in the area meant they had to proceed carefully. To ensure that the centre would in no way threaten the birds, all plans were subject to protracted discussions between the RSPB, the Forestry Commission, Scottish Natural Heritage, and mtb representatives.

A few months ago it looked as though a suitable site had been found in the part of Glen More forest least sensitive for the birds, at Sluggan Pass, and plans for the centre were moving forward.

And then disaster struck.

Over a two-day check in May, the RSPB found positive droppings, probably of a capercaillie hen, which, given the time of year, suggested breeding was taking place nearby. The findings were confirmed yesterday and, as the bird is protected both by UK and by European legislation, the FE said they had no choice but to withdraw planning for the centre.

Jack Mackay at Forestry Enterprise in Inverness told us that, having worked hard on the project and secured funding, FE were “very disappointed” not to be able to go ahead at Sluggan Pass. Mackay assured us that FE are committed to new singletrack in the region and have already got alternatives to Glen More in mind, like Achduchil forest near Laggan (about 20 miles away). He also said that FE are hopeful that they’ll be able to redirect their internally allocated funds into a similar project elsewhere, and be able to re-apply for the European funding that has been withdrawn.

It might not be much consolation to disappointed Aviemore locals, who’d hoped to benefit from an influx of bikers, but time-wise, FE are talking about developing the mtb centre “in years to come”, and who knows, perhaps Miss lone capercaillie will have decided to move on from Sluggan Pass by then…