High Life Highland forced to end in-house provision of outdoor activities but external funding could save some
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High Life Highland (HLH) has confirmed what many had already feared that the charity is cancelling in-house provision of outdoor activities from the end of the month due to severe budget constraints.
The outdoor events, training and activities are the latest casualty of the pressures emerging from the cost of living and doing business crises that have badly affected Highland Council's arm's reach leisure provider.
Bosses needed to provide a reasonable wage as one of the north’s biggest employers while at the same time operating costs rose over the last year in what is a double whammy experienced by nearly every sector.
So HLH was forced to look at all its services to try to tackle its financing issues so it “had no alternative but to review its delivery model to ensure its ongoing sustainability” so other services were not also impacted.
That led to the decision “to cease the in-house provision of outdoor activities at the end of April 2023. This decision will enable us to further protect the services that we know are so valuable for our local communities.”
Currently HLH offers a bewildering array of outdoor activities piste ski training and winter skills courses to paddle sports and mountain biking and there is some hope that some of these can be saved through external funding while discussions are underway with staff affected by the changes.
Rising operating costs and a fair wage
A spokesperson for High Life Highland said: “Being the Highlands’ biggest charity, and a large employer across the region, has meant High Life Highland (HLH) has faced the same challenges as other publicly funded organisations since the pandemic.
“Like so many other organisations, HLH has seen its operating costs rising over the last year. As a large employer, HLH has remained committed to offering its staff a fair wage against an increasingly challenging cost-of-living crisis.
“In facing the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis and trying to mitigate them, the charity has had no alternative but to review its delivery model to ensure its ongoing sustainability.
“We have done this by working in partnership with elected members and officers in the Highland Council, to reach a position where both organisations are hopeful that we can achieve the delivery of vital services and the protection of jobs across the Highlands.
"HLH recognises the financial support received from the Highland Council to support the charity’s ongoing recovery."
In-house provision of outdoor activities to end
The spokesperson added: “As part of the review, however, HLH has had to take the decision to cease the in-house provision of outdoor activities at the end of April 2023. This decision will enable us to further protect the services that we know are so valuable for our local communities.
“This supports HLH in focussing on achieving its social and charitable objectives in terms of delivering service to those often vulnerable, and most-in-need in our Highland communities.
“Consultations are currently taking place with staff affected by the decision.”
Some activities could be saved
“HLH runs a school’s out summer programme of over 1000 activities across its services that has included outdoor activities in previous years, such as surfing in Lossiemouth and Thurso; mountain biking in Fort William, Abriachan, Grantown, Kingussie, Alness, and Invergordon; stand up paddleboarding in Bettyhill; and orienteering in Fort William and Kinlochleven.
“These activities are reliant on external funding and may be offered in future Schools Out programmes if applications to external funding sources are successful.”
