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"Good progress" reported on Cairngorms partnership plan





The five-year Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan has almost reached the halfway mark and the park authority and several key partners have been meeting to discuss progress on some of the main objectives.

Breathtaking: Cairngorms National Park
Breathtaking: Cairngorms National Park

The plan is the overarching management blueprint for the park.

It sets out how all those with a responsibility for the area will co-ordinate their work to tackle the most important issues.

The current plan was launched in 2017 and aims to deliver a wide range of outcomes.

These include:

* the delivery of 200 new affordable houses;

* an increase in woodland expansion;

* more restoration of peatlands;

* investments in the Deeside area; and

* supporting more volunteering opportunities.

In a report to the CNPA board, the 2018-2019 NPPP update revealed "good progress" across the main areas of work in conservation, visitor experience and rural development.

Consent has been given for 105 affordable homes since March 31, last year, and working with partners.

The CNPA is involved in a variety of community-led housing projects in places including Boat of Garten, Braemar, Tomintoul and Dulnain Bridge.

Conservation efforts are "bearing fruit", the board heard, with increasing investment in peatland restoration, riparian woodland creation and the Cairngorms Capercaillie project.

The latter is a Heritage Lottery Fund and LEADER funded project which aims to get more people involved in caring for and wanting to conserve one of Britain's rarest birds.

Xander McDade, CNPA convener, commented: “The eastern Cairngorms were affected badly by flooding in December 2015 – compounded by the fire at the Old Royal Station – so it was important that we focused our collective efforts on what we could do to help ensure a robust tourism sector in that area of the park.

"We set a target of increasing the economic impact of visitors to the Eastern Cairngorms from 21 per cent to 25 per cent and already the latest estimates show that the value of this sector in the eastern and southern areas of the Cairngorms National Park has increased to 22.8 per cent of the total park visitor economy.”

CNPA chief executive Grant Moir said: “I am very pleased with the progress that is being made but we still have some way to go before 2022.

"The context in which the NPPP is being delivered has changed since it was launched in 2017, such as with the climate change emergency announced by the Scottish Government and the recent report on biodiversity loss.

"This will impact on where we focus resources over the next three years.”

Strathy readers can see the interactive report at https://cairngorms.co.uk/working-partnership/national-park-partnership-plan/


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