Strathspey MSP, NFU and Lochaber lobbyists condemn move to create a third national park
Criticism has quickly followed the Scottish Government’s choice of Galloway as a preferred site for the country’s third national park.
NFU Scotland posted: “Based on the experience of many farmers and crofters currently living and working in either the Cairngorms National Park or the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, it is clear that existing parks have failed to make a positive contribution to farming and crofting.
“The consultation process now starting must be transparent, credible and inclusive – which it has not been in Galloway to date.”
At the same time, CNPA chief Grant Moir has defended the record of the authority and questioned the accuracy of statistics published by its detractors.
Mr Moir insisted: “National parks in Scotland have been delivering across conservation, community development, visitor management and rural development since they were established 20 years ago.”
The proposal for a third national park was an exciting one: “This announcement is welcome news."
Other reactions today included a release from the victorious opponents of a national park in Lochaber, who vowed to continue their campaign for a full inquiry into how Scotland’s two existing parks are run.
Lochaber was one of five areas under consideration for the special designation, and the Lochaber National Park NO More campaign has been at the forefront of calls for proper scrutiny of the costs and performance of both the Cairngorm (CNP) and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs (LLTNP) national parks before any more were created.
A petition calling for such a probe, led by the Lochaber campaigners, is currently before the Scottish Parliament and a hearing is due to take place in the autumn.
“We are obviously delighted to have successfully persuaded the Scottish Government not to choose Lochaber, but the issues we raised during our campaign have not gone away,” said campaign founder and Lochaber crofter Debbie Carmichael.
“But it would be totally irresponsible for the Scottish Government to press ahead with a new national park anywhere without examining the operation of the two existing parks, which has never happened in the 21 years since they were founded.
“For that reason, we will be continuing to press our petition, and if anyone in Galloway thinks a new national park will bring nothing but benefits, we would urge them to take a closer look.
“CNP’s annual running cost is £16.2 million, of which staff and board costs account for 41% of the operational plan. In 2023-24 LLTNP will cost £13.9m, with salaries accounting for £7.2million.
But the park responded: “The claim is factually inaccurate. The operating costs are £7.9m and this year £8m is being invested in projects in the park, from peatland restoration and woodland creation to dedicated ranger services, business support activity and farming and land management support.
“The park authority has secured around £35m of additional funding into the park on top of core funding from Scottish Government since 2003.”
Park authorities have been accused of “tokenistic” community engagement in which local people are treated as “an invasive species”.
But this too was countered today by the CNPA, which argued: “The Park Authority regularly engages with people in the national park. Over 1500 people responded to the park plan consultation, over 4000 were engaged on the Cairngorms 2030 programme - nearly a quarter of all park residents - and just recently, over 1600 people responded to the fire byelaw consultation.
“The Board is also made up predominately of local people and there are direct elections to the board by local people.”
Fergus Ewing, the SNP MSP for Inverness and Nairn who has supported the campaign against national park expansion and spoke in favour of the Lochaber petition at the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee on June 12, said: “I remain firmly of the view that before any new national parks are created there must be an independent review of the existing bodies. It’s just common sense to examine their performance given there has never been a proper appraisal at any point in their existence.
“There was widespread opposition to Lochaber becoming a national park and I am delighted my government has recognised it would have been entirely wrong under such circumstances to proceed.
Mr Ewing added: “It would be absolute folly to foist national park status on Galloway without a full appraisal and that must surely be part of the consultation process, otherwise it won’t be worth the paper on which its written. So far, we have had no proper answers to the questions the petitioners have raised, and until such times as they are provided, then it must be a case of this far and no further.”
The National Farmers Union Scotland opposes more national parks, and vice-president Alasdair Macnab said: “NFU Scotland views the creation of a new national park in Scotland as unacceptable, a view supported by 93 per cent of our members, and I can reassure our farmers in the Galloway area that we will continue to support your opposition every step of the way.
“Based on the experience of many farmers and crofters currently living and working in either the Cairngorms National Park or the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, it is clear that existing parks have failed to make a positive contribution to farming and crofting.
But, again, the CNPA rebutted the accusations of failure. In today’s reponse the authority told the Strathy: “The National Park Authority works with a range of farmers, crofters, and land managers.
“This includes the goose control scheme, flood bank surveys, Cairngorms 2030 – Future farming project, mob-grazing trials and much else. There is significant financial support from the park authority.
“During the consultation period for the current National Park Partnership Plan, land managers and farmers were the largest group to provide feedback, accounting for 13% of all responses.”
The union insisted that the consultation process now starting had to be “transparent, credible and inclusive – which it has not been in Galloway to date.”
