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The Courier
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Courier
Controversial Perthshire national park bid back in play as rival plan scrapped
Hopes have been revived for a new national park in Highland Perthshire. Perth and Kinross Council's 'Tay Forest' project was mothballed last summer when Galloway was named the preferred location for Scotland's third national park. But the Galloway bid was scrapped this week following 'significant opposition'. And that's raised the prospect of the Perthshire national park proposal being resurrected. The council told The Courier it is following events at Holyrood. 'We are awaiting further information from the Scottish Government,' said a spokesman. Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon was asked about the chances for a Perthshire national park when she announced the Galloway scheme had hit the buffers on Thursday. Mid Scotland and Fife Green MSP Mark Ruskell said communities in Perthshire had shown 'majority public support' for the bid, despite an 'aggressive misinformation campaign'. And he asked: 'Will the government now re-engage with that bid for Scotland's third national park? 'Or has it simply given up on the idea altogether?' Ms Gougeon insisted the government was still minded to establish more national parks, providing it gets the process right. 'We reached the stage of introducing the proposal to designate Galloway as a national park only because it met all the criteria that had been established and consulted on,' she added. 'We are not looking to do that at the moment, but we remain open to doing so in the future.' The Perthshire national park bid was ruled out of the running by the Scottish Government last July. It would have stretched across almost 3,000 square kilometres of Perthshire, taking in the towns of Aberfeldy, Comrie, Crieff, Dunkeld and Pitlochry. The council held an eight-week consultation on the Tay Forest proposal and received around 350 responses to its survey. More than half of respondents (56.8%) agreed or strongly agreed with the idea. But critics said national park policies – such as beaver re-introduction – conflicted with the interests of local farmers and managers. The Tayside and Central Scotland Moorland Group branded the consultation response 'woeful' and mounted an angry protest outside the council's headquarters. Aberfeldy Community Council was supportive of the national park bid. Its chairman Victor Clements says the group will watch the next steps with interest. But he suggests there are other ways to invest in nature conservation without adding more layers of management. 'Instead of funding the administrative structures of a new national park, give the equivalent budget to Perth and Kinross Council, and let them fund nature conservation initiatives and a ranger service directly,' said Mr Clements. 'The council could also support farmers and landowners in doing the things they do want to do, as they have shown they can do in the past with the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme and other grant programmes.' The SNP signed up to a new national park as part of the power-sharing Bute House agreement with the Scottish Greens. It has since been scrapped too.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Call made to stop rich "hoarding" Stirling properties
An MSP has claimed too many young people are forced to leave the communities they have grown up in due to housing shortages and high house prices - caused by second homes and holiday lets. Reducing the number of second homes in Stirling could help to tackle the housing crisis says a local MSP. Mark Ruskell, Scottish Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, says making it harder for the wealthy to 'hoard' homes by increasing their tax is crucial to tackle the issue in Stirlingshire. The most recent data from the Scottish Government shows that second homes and short-term lets make up 2.5 per cent of all housing in Stirling. This is higher than the national average (1.8 per cent). At the same time, a housing emergency has been declared across Scotland and over 10,000 children are in temporary accommodation. Second homes are more common in areas of natural beauty, including Callander, Aberfoyle and Bridge of Allan. In many cases young people are forced to leave the communities they have grown up in due to housing shortages and high house prices caused by second homes and holiday lets. Mr Ruskell says the Scottish Greens have already taken action to reduce the spread of holiday homes and short term lets, doubling the tax paid when buying a home for these purposes and giving councils the power to double council tax on these properties. This reduced the number of second homes by 2455 in Scotland last year compared to 2023 and raised tens of millions of pounds for public services like the NHS and schools. Speaking in Parliament last week, Mr Ruskell raised concerns about the expansion of second home ownership, and called for action to protect communities and help first time house buyers by reducing the number of holiday homes. He said: 'Scotland is in a housing crisis. Everyone in Parliament agrees on this, but it's only the Scottish Greens delivering the changes needed to tackle it. 'The fact that we have hundreds of second homes and short term lets across Stirlingshire, outstripping the national average, is a major reason why this crisis is so much worse locally. Wealthy people buying up properties they won't live in are pushing out young families in particular. 'These houses either lie empty for most of the year as holiday homes, or they are hoarded by landlords making a fortune from Airbnb-style short term lets. Either way, its first-time buyers who are pushed out by those with much more financial muscle. 'There are 10,000 children stuck in temporary accommodation, but 49,000 second homes and short term lets. This is a crisis which can clearly be solved. We'll only do that by taking on the wealthy few, those who pay very little tax while hoovering up the houses which other people need. 'The current Housing Bill is a watershed moment in the Scottish Parliament. Thanks to the Scottish Greens it will deliver controls on rent increases and new rights and protections for renters. 'However, it must go further to tackle the vast inequality gap that we see between the rich and the vulnerable in Stirlingshire. 'The Scottish Government must listen to us and act boldly to stop the hollowing out of our communities.' In his speech, Mr Ruskell said his area's communities welcomed people who come to make their lives in permanent homes, but that more second homes were artificially inflating the housing market and pricing out locals, particularly families taking their first steps in the housing market. 'Adult children often have to stay in the family home while saving for a deposit or even to move out of their community, away from friends and family, at a stage in life when support networks are incredibly important. 'I also see older people struggling. They can become trapped in unsuitable housing because there are few properties available to downsize into and they sometimes end up in precarious tenancies in poorly serviced park homes. There are few options for people in many rural communities. 'It is in those hotspots that we can most clearly see the impact of second home ownership. Shops close because of a lack of regular custom, schools have dwindling numbers of young people, leading to their eventual closure, and residents no longer have neighbours.'
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Galloway National Park: SNP ministers told to ignore 'land-owning lobbyists' as new park looks set to be axed
The rural affairs secretary is due to make a statement later this week where she will axe the national park plans. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Scottish Government is being told not to be swayed by land-owning lobbyists as the proposed Galloway National Park looks set to be ditched. Creating a third national park in Galloway was a key commitment of the Bute House Agreement, the power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens which ended a year ago. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon is expected to delay the plans until after the next election when she makes a speech to parliament later this week. Mairi Gougeon MSP. The Scottish Greens say there can be no delay to creating a third national park, and say caving into lobbyists would see the area miss out on key environmental protections. Mark Ruskell MSP 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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'From effectively managing tourism and forestry to levering investment into transport and housing, national parks are benefitting 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. Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell 'I hope the SNP ignores a small number of voices who want to stop any kind of change, anywhere. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad '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.' Less than a month ago a report predicted the new national park would cost the area more than £500 million by 2035. The report from BiGGAR Economics says it will 'almost certainly reduce deployment of onshore farms in south west Scotland by making it more difficult for developers to secure planning permission for developments near the park.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This comes after reports that several MSPs want ministers to take forward a 'park lite' plan instead, which would allow extra investment to encourage tourism, but without the environmental and planning restrictions of a full national park. They also argue Galloway is an unsuitable location due to its extensive farming and forestry industries. There are plenty of lovely walks in the enormous Galloway Forest Park but one of the nicest during winter starts at Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre. The two hour trail takes in Clatteringshaws Loch, Bruce's Stone (commemorating Robert the Bruce's victory at the Battle of Glen Trool in 1307), winter woodland and the 'Loch View hike' offering spectacular vistas of the surrounding countryside. Farmers in the Galloway area have previously raised concerns the proposals would prioritise tourism and visitor access over their farming needs and add extra red tape, and NFU Scotland says 93 per cent of its members in Galloway oppose the plans. Rebel SNP backbencher Fergus Ewing told The Scotsman: 'The opposition is overwhelming and what we are seeing from that part of Scotland is fairly substantial opposition from the farming community. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Very early on the government realised it was not as popular as originally thought. 'The last thing any farming community in Scotland needs is the bureaucracy of a national park.' One source told The Scotsman the government is likely to push the proposals back until after the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. They said this will end up in the 'pro-park side campaigning against the SNP' and make the creation of a new national park an election issue. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is understood a consultation into the proposals will show 52 per cent are against the idea, and that a 'significant' number of the 48 per cent who are in favour do not live in the Galloway area. Ms Gougeon is scheduled to make a ministerial statement on the 'Galloway and Ayrshire National Park proposal' on Thursday afternoon in the Scottish Parliament. Speaking ahead of the statement, she 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.
The National
23-05-2025
- Climate
- The National
Warning issued over 'severe' environmental impact of Scottish wildfires
Over the last several weeks, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has battled dozens of wildfires across the country, with evacuations taking place in some areas. Just yesterday, firefighters were at the scene of a forest wildfire for a fourth day. The blaze in Culbin Forest, near Forres in Moray, has affected an area the size of some 900 football pitches. READ MORE: Tories told to 'come clean' after sharing call to abolish Welsh parliament 'Images of the recent wildfires across Scotland are harrowing,' Mark Ruskell told The National. The Scottish Greens MSP added: 'Forests ablaze, scorched earth stripped of its nature, and homes and businesses put at risk. The impact to our environment, its fragile ecosystems, and the plant and wildlife that rely on it, is severe.' Ruskell also highlighted the particular danger in Scotland given our extensive amount of peatland. Scottish peatlands store a gigantic 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon, equivalent to 140 years of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions. (Image: Peter Jolly) 'In 2019, a wildfire on Europe's largest peatland in Caithness and Sutherland doubled Scotland's climate emissions for the days it burned, highlighting the special risks posed in Scotland,' Ruskell said. 'We must redouble our efforts to restore and rewet peatlands, minimising the risk of flooding and wildfires while locking up emissions. 'Record heat, sun and lack of rainfall have all contributed as climate breakdown moves from warnings to reality. Without fundamental change, the threat, and the cost of dealing with it, will only become more severe.' Academics have warned that wildfires are simply 'the new normal' in Scotland and will become a more frequent occurrence as a result of climate change. Already last month, the area of the UK burnt by wildfires was already higher than the total for any year since 2012, according to satellite data. More than 29,200 hectares (292 sq km or 113 sq miles) was burnt as of April 27, according to figures from the Global Wildfire Information System.
The Courier
16-05-2025
- The Courier
Stirling prison path still blocked despite reopening promise
A once-busy public path around HMP Stirling remains blocked by a locked gate, despite repeated promises to reopen it. The informal route was purpose built by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) ahead of the prison's opening in 2023. The path lies outwith the secure perimeter of the prison, and links a popular walk from Cornton Road to the River Forth. But, last year, a lock was installed on a gate along the path, blocking access. It is understood the lock was fitted to discourage members of the public from gathering in the area and shouting to individuals within the prison, prompting noise complaints. However, some locals are unhappy about no longer being able to walk along the path, which was popular with dog-walkers. And both SPS and Stirling Council acknowledge that locking the gate risks going against the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which protects citizens' right to roam. In April, Stirling Council's access officer proposed removing the lock for a three-month trial period. However, the council said it 'may take some time for a decision to be agreed by SPS' and pledged to follow up in June if no progress had been made. SPS told The Courier it has agreed to the trial. Despite these assurances, the gate remains locked as of the time of writing, and Stirling Council could not confirm a reopening date when asked. Nearby residents say they are becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation. Alasdair Tollemache, Green Stirling councillor for Dunblane and Bridge of Allan, told The Courier: 'Many residents have complained about the blocked access and it is clearly against the relevant legislation. 'I would expect it to be immediately reopened.' And Mark Ruskell, MSP for mid-Scotland and Fife region said: 'It's disappointing that there was little engagement with the council or surrounding community when footpath access was suddenly shut off. 'While I appreciate security considerations around the prison perimeter, it's clear that anyone who is determined to can easily get round the wooden fence that has been put up. 'The Scottish Prison Service continues to listen to the community, but then takes little action on concerns raised about noise and other issues. 'This must change.' A Stirling Council spokesperson told The Courier: 'We can confirm that we are liaising with the Scottish Prison Service as the landowner to resolve this issue and enable public access to the path. 'As part of ongoing efforts, the lock on the gate will be removed for a trial period of two months with the situation being closely monitored by HMP Stirling.' A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'We are committed to being a good neighbour and have engaged with the community and the local authority on this request, and agreed to open the gate on HMP & YOI Stirling land for a trial period.'
