2 days ago
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.
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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.
