Plug pulled on Ben Wyvis and Glen Affric National Park bid as clear split revealed
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The team exploring local support for a possible national park centred around Ben Wyvis have pulled the plug on the bid.
The prospect of the area 'benefitting immensely' had been floated just a few weeks ago with hopes of looking after the natural environment and crating jobs.
If the bid had been successful then it would have created a neighbour for the Cairngorms National Park.
But it has emerged concerns from farmers and crofters in Badenoch and Strathspey who recently staged a protest outside of the organisation's Grantown office have played a part in the decision not to proceed.
The Scottish Government has vowed to designate at least one new national park by the end of the current parliamentary session in 2026. Nominations are being sought with a deadline of the end of February.
Several prospective bids have been floated.
But the group gauging support within a tight time-frame for a prospective Ben Wyvis and Glen Affric National Park said in a statement today that 'over the last few days it has become clear that difficult decisions had to be made'.
It says: "Our team has misgivings concerning the limited timeframe and resourcing afforded to nominating groups thus far, and in light of this we do not feel confident that the process going forward to the next stage will be allowed sufficient time and resource to achieve a satisfactory collaborative outcome.
"Since it is not clear to us that a new national park can be established to the highest standards within the current deadline, we are – with deep regret – unable to submit a nomination for Ben Wyvis and Glen Affric at this time."
Reasons outlined are:
- According to the results of our survey and public consultation sessions, the balance of opinion, among those who have expressed one, stands at roughly 50:50 between support and objection to exploring a new national park in our area. While no outcome can satisfy everyone, the most strongly expressed views have come from those opposed to a new national park, in particular among members of the farming and crofting community, and landowners.
Concerns expressed have included:
- Unwelcome new red tape and a new layer of governance.
- Time/stress/expense for farmers/crofters/estates having to meet environmental demands made to them by a national park authority when the farming sector is already under multiple pressures.
- A presumed lack of accountability and responsiveness within the governance of the national park authority and its interaction with farmers, crofters and estates.
- A presumed lack of farmer/crofter/estate representation in how the park would be run.
It also acknowledged concerns that tight budgets could be better directed elsewhere and that food production should have higher priority. The statement went on: "Rightly or wrongly, many in the rural community feel that nature restoration is the overriding focus of Scottish Government to the detriment of local culture and economy."
Concerns include:
- A national park would bring more visitors and visitor pressure, in an area where facilities are already stretched.
- House prices within a national park would rise and affordable housing for local families become harder to find.
- An assumption that a new national park will prioritise biodiversity and nature restoration ahead of rural livelihoods, in a situation in which these are in opposition.
- The national park process has been too rushed, leading to a feeling of being ambushed. Many people said the process should have involved local land managers and farmers from the outset.
- The process of consulting and deciding on a national park has not been clearly set out by Scottish Government, and there is a widely held belief that a second round of consultation will not be rigorous or representative enough.
- A fear that for the area(s) chosen to go forward, the development of a national park becomes inexorable, with no backstop or get-out once the Scottish Government has embarked on developing the proposal because it will be invested in a positive result.
Dan Bailey, of the Ben Wyvis and Glen Affric National Park team, admitted: "We feel many of the concerns specific to the management and local impact of a new national park could be addressed by a national park authority with appropriate local accountability and planning powers, concerns about the current process of consulting on and establishing a new national park are more fundamental."
The group concluded: "While a new national park might have gone some way to meeting many aspirations, it’s clear that even having had a chance to consider these questions has not been a wasted effort.
"Perhaps a slow-lane process could be considered for areas in which a new national park at the current time appears a step too far, too fast, but in which there may be grounds to continue a conversation about possible new directions over a longer timeframe.
"We would fully support such an initiative."
The group confirmed that it will be informing the Scottish Government of its decision not to submit a bid for the Ben Wyvis and Glen Affric National Park before the deadline for submissions on February 29.
