Scottish Government rules out reopening national park process
With ministers having decided not to proceed with plans to establish a national park in Galloway, Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said she would not be 'reopening' the process.
That was despite Galloway having been selected for consideration from a shortlist of five areas.
As Gougeon appeared before Holyrood's Rural Affairs Committee, she was pressed on whether one of the other areas could now be considered for national park status.
READ MORE: Secondary pupils to receive free school meals in eligibility expansion
Noting that the plans for Galloway had been abandoned because of a lack of public support in the area, Green MSP Mark Ruskell said in one of the other shortlisted areas, Tay Forest, a consultation had found a 'large majority support for a national park in that area'.
He told the Rural Affairs Secretary: 'You have one area which does have public support, does meet the criteria, what would be the future for a national park in Tay Forest at this point?'
Gougeon told him: 'We set out a process to establish or to designate a new national park in Scotland, as far as I am concerned we have completed that process and we have come to a decision not to proceed with that designation.
'So, I wouldn't want you to now think we are going to reopen that or go back to consider other bids, because we have been through that process and that has been completed.
'So, I won't be going back to review those bids or to consider proceeding on that basis.'
Gougeon added that ministers are 'open to considering establishing a national park, potentially in the future' but with the next Holyrood elections taking place in May 2026 she stressed that this would be for a future government to consider.
Ruskell said: 'That sounds like no more national parks for the foreseeable future, at a time when there are lots of national park proposals being developed in England and elsewhere.'
Scotland currently has two national parks, with one in the Cairngorms and one in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
The Scottish Government's commitment to creating a new one came out of the powersharing agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens at Holyrood – a deal which came to an end last year when then first minister Humza Yousaf ejected the smaller party from his government.
Gougeon appeared before Holyrood's Rural Affairs Committee some two weeks after she confirmed that the Government would not be proceeding with the proposed national park in Galloway.
She told MSPs than that a consultation had found 54% of people were opposed to a national park in the area, with 42% in favour.
Among local people, 57% were against the national park bid while 40% were supportive of it, Ms Gougeon added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
Acorn carbon capture project to get £200m, Miliband confirms
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has confirmed that £200m will be provided to progress the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) scheme in - who has been visiting the St Fergus gas terminal where the project will be based - said he had told the company behind the project that he expected it to make a final investment decision by the end of the said he wanted to see significant progress "by the turn of the decade" but would not commit to a firm group Friends of the Earth, which is sceptical about carbon capture, said the "scarce public money" would only directly benefit "greedy oil and gas companies". The investment in the Acorn Project comes as part of the UK government's spending review which will increase Holyrood's budget by £2.9bn a year on part of his announcement, Miliband added that a Scottish Labour government would deliver new nuclear power in Scotland. Acorn has said its project will safeguard about 18,000 jobs that would otherwise have been lost, including jobs at captured at Grangemouth will be transported to storage facilities under the North Sea, avoiding its release into the jobs will be needed to build pipelines to transport the CO2 safely and generate low-carbon power to homes and UK government is providing similar funding for the Viking carbon capture project in the Humber. Miliband said: "This government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects."This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future."Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change." Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, lead developer of Acorn, said: "We warmly welcome the UK government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision (FID)."He said the funding announcement was a "milestone" and was on top of significant private sector investment."We look forward to working with government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector," he Acorn and Viking are operational, combined, it has been claimed they could prevent up to 18 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere each involved in the CCS schemes say they can also play a role in low-carbon power and hydrogen production, supporting thousands of jobs. Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "The government's backing for the Acorn Project is a significant endorsement which will help to make the north east a world leader in the low-carbon industry."This major carbon capture and storage facility puts us on an ecologically more sustainable trajectory and will bolster the region's economy by creating up to 15,000 jobs in construction and attracting billions in private investment."Whilst this intervention is undoubtedly welcome, we urge both the UK and Scottish governments to work in collaboration to realise Acorn's potential in full." 'Unaffordable energy system' Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "This is an enormous handout of supposedly scarce public money that will only directly benefit greedy oil and gas companies."Politicians are paying hundreds of millions to keep us locked into an unaffordable energy system which is reliant on fossil fuels and is destroying the climate."Carbon capture technology has 50 years of failure behind it, so businesses, workers and the public are being sold a lie about its role in their future."She said building new fossil fuel infrastructure would undermine the energy transition and embolden oil firms to continue drilling in the North Sea."Both the UK and Scottish governments should instead be backing climate solutions that can improve people's lives such as upgrading public transport, ensuring people live in warm homes and creating green jobs for the long-term," she added.
STV News
21 minutes ago
- STV News
Scottish housing crisis is making people suicidal, industry warns
A housing industry leader has said the Scottish housing crisis is causing people to have suicidal thoughts. Susie Fitton from the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) told MSPs on Thursday that social landlords speak to people 'expressing suicidal thoughts about their housing issues' on a regular basis. The SFHA policy manager told MSPs on Holyrood's social justice and social security committee that over one in ten staff, on a daily or weekly basis, had spoken to applicants expressing suicidal thoughts about their housing issues.q Ms Fitton added: 'This really is the side of the housing emergency that doesn't really get talked about very often.' She said the issue had been raised at the SFHA annual conference earlier this week when 'somebody said 'we need registered social landlords in Scotland to stop people from feeling like they need to kill themselves because of their housing situation''. She also told the committee that demand for social housing – provided by councils and housing associations – is 'obviously outstripping supply in many areas'. MSPs took evidence on the housing crisis on Thursday morning as at least 12 councils have already declared local housing emergencies. The first was declared by Argyll and Bute Council in June 2023. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife and West Dunbartonshire Councils followed suit. The Scottish Government formally declared a national housing emergency on May 15, 2024. Nationally, 17,424 households were classed as either being homeless or threatened with homelessness between April 1 and September 30 last year. As of September 30, there were a record 16,634 households living in temporary accommodation – which included 10,360 children. Tony Cain, from the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO), told MSPs: 'It doesn't matter where you are in Scotland, there is a shortage of social rented homes, it is as simple as that. 'There are more people looking for a social rented home than there are homes available each year to meet their needs.' While he stressed the importance of 'plotting a way out of the housing emergency', he also said there is a need to ensure 'those who are caught up in it are safe'. Noting 242 people who had been in contact with services to help the homeless had died in 2022-23, he insisted not enough resources are being put into supporting vulnerable households. Mr Cain said: 'The right support at the right moment makes a big difference and we are simply not putting enough resources into support services to understand people's needs, the risks that they face and to keep them safe. 'So as well as finding a way out, safely managing services to people who are caught in it is critical. 'We need to be offering more support to vulnerable households and we aren't resourced to do that at the moment.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
36 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
UK Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with Acorn £200m
The scheme, which proposes storing emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea, had previously been overlooked for support despite repeated calls from the Scottish Government and others for it to be backed. With the UK Government also pledging to support the Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Humber, Mr Miliband insisted the two schemes will 'support industrial renewal' with 'thousands of highly skilled jobs'. According to the sector, Acorn could support about 15,000 jobs at its peak, with up to 20,000 jobs at the Viking project. As it develops, it is planned the Acorn site will link up with the former oil refinery at Grangemouth via more than 200 miles of pipelines. An existing 175 miles of gas pipes will be repurposed for this, with 35 miles of new pipeline also being built, allowing CO2 from the Grangemouth site to be transported to Acorn's storage facilities under the North Sea. The move is seen by many as being key in securing a future for the facility, where some 400 workers were recently made redundant. Speaking as he visited the site near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Mr Miliband said: 'This Government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects. 'This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future. Read More 'Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change.' Mr Miliband visited the site the day after Rachel Reeves promised funding for Acorn in her spending review – although the Chancellor did not put a figure on how much support would be given in her statement to MPs. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said afterwards: 'The £200 million funding confirmed for the Acorn carbon capture project will help to support the design and preparation as it continues to progress. 'This is about revitalising our industrial communities and creating long-term economic opportunities for Scottish workers.' Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, the lead developer of Acorn, said: 'We warmly welcome the UK Government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach final investment decision.' He added the 'milestone' is 'key not only for Acorn but for establishing Scotland's essential CCS infrastructure needed to grow and scale the UK's wider carbon capture and storage industry'. Mr Stedman continued: 'We look forward to working with Government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector.' Graeme Davies, executive vice-president at Harbour Energy, which is leading the Viking project, said the commitment in the spending review 'sends a strong signal' that the project is 'an infrastructure-led economic growth priority' for the Parliament. He added: 'We will work with Government on the critical steps needed to progress Viking CCS towards a final investment decision.' However climate campaigners at Friends of the Earth said the money should instead be invested in public transport, energy efficiency and measures to support oil workers to transition to jobs in the renewables sector. Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: 'This is an enormous handout of supposedly scarce public money that will only directly benefit greedy oil and gas companies. 'Politicians are paying hundreds of millions to keep us locked into an unaffordable energy system which is reliant on fossil fuels and is destroying the climate. 'Carbon capture technology has 50 years of failure behind it, so businesses, workers and the public are being sold a lie about its role in their future. 'Building new fossil fuel infrastructure will undermine the energy transition and embolden oil firms to keep on drilling in the North Sea. 'Both the UK and Scottish governments should instead be backing climate solutions that can improve people's lives such as upgrading public transport, ensuring people live in warm homes and creating green jobs for the long-term.'
