Gravitate North East
Car park
A car park of approximately 35m x 60m. Formal parking would replace the informal parking that currently happens on site and in the surrounding area, to improve visitor management and safety.
What is proposed
A small set of managed visitor facilities at Pitfichie Hill, to formalise mountain biking that already takes place there.
Proposed facilities
Toilets
Basic visitor welfare facilities, for all forest users, not only mountain bikers.
Two downhill trails
Two downhill trails, DH1 and DH2, within defined construction corridors so the final lines can avoid environmental constraints.
Managed uplift
A pre-booked uplift service with limited daily rider numbers, running a maximum of four days. It is intended to reduce unmanaged access and parking pressure.
Where the trails would go
The two downhill trails would run within defined construction corridors, shown shaded on the map. Working within corridors means the final trail lines can be adjusted during detailed design to avoid sensitive features.
Much of this area is commercial forestry, including ground clear-felled after Storm Arwen.
Car park, finish area and uplift
The car park would sit beside the existing forest road, with an access path to the trail finish area and the uplift pick-up point.
The car park location has been chosen to avoid watercourses, surface-water flow paths and household water supplies.
What is not proposed
- A large bike park. The proposal is not comparable to Glentress or other major trail centres.
- Ownership of Pitfichie Hill. The wider Pitfichie and Corrennie Forest stays under Forestry and Land Scotland management.
- Any change to public access rights.
- The use of explosives or dynamite.
- Large-scale woodland clearance, removal of protected habitats, or building outside agreed corridors.
Nothing has been approved yet
The request is being considered by Forestry and Land Scotland, and planning permission would be needed separately.
How the approvals work