Ministers told delaying national park decision risks ‘unacceptable uncertainty'
Scottish Government ministers are being urged to press ahead with plans to establish a new national park, with supporters in Galloway insisting any delay will cause 'unacceptable uncertainty' for the region.
Ministers have already announced the area could be home to what would be Scotland's third national park.
The proposed park could take in parts of Dumfries and Galloway, as well as parts of South and East Ayrshire.
A consultation has been taking place, with Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon due to make a statement on Thursday.
It comes after what has been described as 'intense lobbying' from opponents, with the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) having recorded 29 meetings with ministers and MSPs between January last year and February this year.
Those against granting national park status to Galloway have claimed it could cost the area more than £500 million by 2035, arguing such a move could prevent developments such as new wind farms.
But supporters say the area is currently 'the forgotten corner of Scotland' and that designating it as a national park could attract new people, while preventing the area from becoming a 'dumping ground for inappropriate windfarms'.
Scotland currently has two national parks, in the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, with Rob Lucas, chair of the Galloway National Parks Association stating: 'Galloway desperately needs a national park to give it the long-term certainty and commitment that has been missing for so long.'
The region has a 'fragile economy' and is one of the 'poorest rural areas in the UK', he added.
Mr Locas said: 'This is the forgotten corner of Scotland. We need a national park to put Galloway on the map to attract people to live, work and visit, and help prevent it becoming the dumping ground for inappropriate windfarms and insensitive afforestation.'
Kat Jones, director of the countryside charity, Action to Protact Rural Scotland (APRS), said while Galloway has 'beautiful landscapes and special nature', the area has been 'long overlooked for investment' and has the 'fastest declining population on mainland Scotland'.
Designating the area as a national park would be a 'chance to make a change for the better now', she said.
The campaigner continued: 'Any delay would likely leave the designation to be completed in the next Parliament, bringing unacceptable uncertainty.'
In the midst of a 'nature and climate crisis', she insisted creating a national park could help develop a new model of 'how nature, communities, farming, forestry and energy can all work together for a resilient and sustainable future'.
She added: 'National parks are a recognition of the best of our nation's landscapes. Scotland, with some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, has only two of the UK's 15 national parks.
'Ministers need to make a decision that will retain Scotland's standing as a country that values and protects its nature and heritage.
'Any delay in recognising a national park would be a setback for Scotland's reputation for nature and landscape protection, and for the people of Galloway and southern Ayrshire, who are set to benefit most from the new national park.'
John Thomson, chair of the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, said: 'Scottish national parks are at the forefront globally in the way that they seek to strike an enduring balance between nature protection and enhancement, truly sustainable land use and development, and community vitality and wellbeing.
'As such, they can lead in mapping the way forward for rural areas right across Scotland's wealth of fine landscapes, bringing huge benefits to both local residents and to all who value the treasures they have to offer.
'Over a century since a Scot gifted the world the concept of the national park, Scotland urgently needs more of them.
'Galloway, in particular, has waited far too long for its natural and cultural heritage assets to be recognised in this way.'
Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell said: 'Any decision to scrap or delay the Galloway national park would be a disaster for local nature and communities.
'Scotland's two current national parks, the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, have shown just how valuable the status can be. From effectively managing tourism and forestry to levering investment into transport and housing, national parks are benefiting the communities they serve.
'National park status opens doors for areas that desperately need opportunities, with the potential to create high-quality jobs, boost local food production and secure landscape scale investment in nature.
'I hope the SNP ignore a small number of voices who want to stop any kind of change, anywhere. A Galloway national park would have a positive impact for nature and communities and would be managed and controlled by local people themselves.
'Scottish communities were competing against each other last year to secure a new national park, it would be an embarrassment if SNP ministers now blocked every community in Scotland from hosting a new park.'
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: 'I would like to thank all those who took part in the consultation on whether there should be a new national park in Galloway and South and East Ayrshire.
'Now that we have received NatureScot's report of the consultation findings and advice on the proposal, we have carefully considered these and will update parliament on Thursday on the next steps.'
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