Latest news with #SouthofScotlandDestinationAlliance
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Differing reactions from farming and tourism bosses as Galloway National park Plans scrapped
NFU Scotland has welcomed the move but the South of Scotland Destination Alliance has been left deeply disappointed. Farming and tourism bosses have offered different reactions to the decision not to make Galloway Scotland's third national park. A report on NatureScot's consultation revealed there was great support among the environment, recreation and tourism industries, with landowners and managers as well as the farming, forestry and the renewable energy sectors having the greatest concerns. NFU Scotland president, Andrew Cannon, said: 'Farmers, crofters and land managers raised legitimate concerns around the clarity, cost and purpose of the designation. 'The Scottish Government has clearly recognised that there was not enough local backing for such a significant change in land management structure. 'We thank NatureScot for engaging closely with us during the process and for recognising, as we have repeatedly called for, that existing arrangements should be strengthened rather than overhauled. 'Going forward, we urge the Scottish Government to work in partnership with NFU Scotland and our members on practical projects that support biodiversity, climate action and thriving rural communities without additional regulatory burdens.' Scottish Land and Estates also welcomed the move. The South of Scotland Destination Alliance were left disappointed by Rurual Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon's announcement. Chief executive, David Hope-Jones, said: 'We feel this is a missed opportunity to attract sustained investment in visitor management, visitor experience and visitor infrastructure. We represent 750+ local businesses and when consulted in the autumn of 2023, the majority of SSDA members (66 per cent) supported the idea. 'Now that the Galloway National Park has been rejected by the Scottish Government, we feel it is crucial that there is some other form of investment in the south of Scotland to support sustainable tourism and economic prosperity. 'Together, we have an ambitious South of Scotland Responsible Tourism Strategy, developed and delivered by hundreds of local businesses and communities, with all public agencies committed. The results from this have been hugely positive and yet there has been a significant decrease in funding to support sustainable destination management and marketing. 'In deciding not to back the Galloway National Park, we call on the Scottish Government to outline how, through new investment, the same sustainable economic results can be achieved.' Other organisations unhappy at the move included Ramblers Scotland, Protect Rural Scotland, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Rewilding Alliance.
.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26trim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26crop%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
27-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Centre Parcs coming to the Scottish Borders is like a 'blue whale arriving in a medium-sized pond'
Centre Parcs want to build its first site in Scotland near Hawick in the Scottish Borders. Sign up to our Scotsman Rural News - A weekly of the Hay's Way tour of Scotland emailed direct to you. 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... A tourism chief has compared the interest of Centre Parcs in the Scottish Borders to a 'blue whale arriving in a medium-sized pond'. The hugely-successful holiday park company wants to build a £400 million site near Hawick, with a potential opening date of early 2029 proposed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad An impression of some of the lodges planned for the proposed Centre Parcs site near Hawick in the Scottish Borders. Picture: Centre Parcs. | An impression of some of the lodges planned for the proposed Centre Parcs site near Hawick in the Scottish Borders. PIC: Centre Parcs. Centre Parcs has signed an option for the land with the Duke of Buccleuch. The company's commitment to the area comes as major work advances in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway to boost tourism revenue by £1 billion by 2034. David Hope-Jones, chief executive of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA), said the investment of Centre Parcs and the associated visitor numbers could be 'transformative' for the area. David Hope-Jones, chief executive of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance. | Contributed Mr Hope-Jones said: 'Essentially, it is the equivalent of a medium-sized pond and suddenly a blue whale arrives. It is the largest single investment that there has ever been - £400m. It is larger than the entire cost of the Borders Railway. 'It is going to create 1,200 year-round permanent jobs and that is probably where the biggest impact will be. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'When you take 1,200 jobs, even if they were at minimum wage, which they won't be, that is a total salary of £30m to £40m a year. That is going into pockets where it wasn't before. 'You look at Hawick, Jedburgh , Selkirk - these are towns that lost their mills between the 1970s and 1990s. Hawick High Street can feel like a depressing place at times. This is the equivalent of re-opening several of those old mills, but in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.' Centre Parcs has proposed to build a new site on Duke of Buccleuch land just north of Hawick in the Scottish Borders. PIC: SSDA. | Centre Parcs has proposed to build a new site on Duke of Buccleuch land just north of Hawick in the Scottish Borders. PIC: SSDA. Center Parcs wants to build 700 lodges and accompanying tourist facilities on a site to the north of the town. If approved, it will be the company's first site in Scotland and its seventh in the UK and Ireland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A series of public consultations has been held, with the most recent one last week at Hawick Rugby Club attended by Centre Parcs' chief executive Colin McKinlay and Rajbinder Singh-Dehal, the chief corporate officer. Some concerns have been voiced about the loss of usable farmland and also that visitors might not venture into the surrounding area, according to accounts. Mr Hope-Jones said his own research found the 'overwhelming majority' of businesses locally were 'strongly supportive' of the development. He said: 'I would say there hasn't been a single item of news that has had such consistent positivity in places such as Hawick in decades and decades. I did a survey of businesses after one week and after six months and the overwhelming majority are strongly supportive.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Hope-Jones said it was expected the SSDA would sign a formal partnership with Centre Parcs by the time a planning application was submitted, which is due to happen in July. The partnership would look to encourage Centre Parcs guests - with 35,000 a year expected to stay at the Hawick site - to explore the surrounding area. 'Even if we are only talking 10 per cent of guests bolting on a three or four-night stay afterwards, that would be transformative,' Mr Hope-Jones said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He added: 'The extraordinary thing about Centre Parcs is not just the price point they command, the brand loyalty they command, but also their occupancy rates. They are phenomenal. READ MORE: 10 unique events taking place across Scotland this summer 'The most recent Centre Parcs was built in Longford in the middle of Ireland, the bit that no one really knew about. Within five years - and it included Covid - they have got an occupancy rate of 98.8 per cent. 'It has taken one of the poorest areas of Ireland into one of the most economically active areas of Ireland in terms of job creation and taxation. The growth is unprecedented. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Scotland's newest driving route and lessons learned from NC500
The South West Coastal 300 is a driving route on the road less travelled, with lessons being learned from the overwhelming popularity of the NC500. Sign up to our History and Heritage 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... It takes in sandy beaches, dramatic coastlines, rolling countryside, pretty villages and a sense of the undiscovered. The South West Coastal 300 (SWC300) which ventures through Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire, is Scotland's latest driving route. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The loop starts and finishes in Dumfries and reaches the most southerly point in Scotland at Mull of Galloway. Drivers will also head to Wanlockhead, the highest village in the country, in the Lowther Hills. Places such as Culzean Castle, the book village of Wigtown and the charming, colourful Portpatrick are found on the way. The route comes following the overwhelming popularity of the North Coast 500 through the Highlands , which generates at least £22m a year for the local economy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Its success has been tempered by frequent complaints from residents about large volumes of drivers on narrow roads, driving standards and the impact of the poor behaviour of some holiday makers, such as illegal parking and bad waste management. The North Coast 500 Ltd, which markets the route, has said it is listening to concerns and acting upon complaints. Meanwhile, the creators of the new drive in the south of Scotland are keen to create a different type of experience for both drivers and communities on the route. David Hope-Jones, of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance, said he 'did not want to criticise the NC500' given it economic success and job creation but added the route had created 'real challenges' for communities on the route. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said: 'Generally, the North Coast 500 can be regarded as a marketer's triumph. With relatively little investment, it has created a phenomenon that has driven the economy to an extraordinary degree. 'If you judge it purely through the marketeers lens, it has been very, very successful. 'But, if you view it through a community lens and actually a visitor experience lens that is not really the story. 'You have got the £25 fish and chips, you have got the associated housing challenges, you have unclassified roads that have useage far, far beyond what they were built for but there isn't the money to invest in them 'So you have got real challenges.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said that promotion for the SWC300 was kept at a minimum and was directed at specific markets, such as potential self-drive tourist from Germany. Mr Hope-Jones added: 'One of the difficult things is when you have that marketing success, it very quickly has its own energy and it is very hard to change or turn off. ' I am not looking to criticise, and with all humility, we look to learn from the NC500's successes in terms of brand creation and the use of social media. But how do we first engage with local communities and have systems working so we are confident we are working within the existing infrastructure? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We run the South West Coastal 300 on our website but we are careful not to push it too much and we are careful where we push it. 'Getting the German and Dutch self drive market to be inspired and do it is great, as their spend is so strong but getting this blunderbuss approach of promoting it to everyone, we might find that the average spend of visitors is going down. 'The key thing is to listen to local businesses and residents and make these adjustments.' Residents and businesses have routinely said they did not want to emulate the NC500, with the topic raised at more than 60 public meetings. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Hope-Jones added: 'One of the questions we have asked is which area of Scotland and the UK should we emulate and which area should we not emulate.
The National
04-05-2025
- The National
Trains, tales and tranquillity: why Melrose is my great escape
When I was a wee laddie we often hauled down to visit relatives in Galashiels. The 1980s weren't that kind to Gala so my impressions of a Borders town were not entirely positive. My lovely Uncle Donald used to say if only they would bring the railway back from Edinburgh ... Well, in 2015, trains ran once again on the Borders Line, though sadly my uncle never lived to see them breathe new life into Gala. The railways have also breathed new life into Melrose, a town that was already doing well, as the terminus at Tweedbank lies less than an hour's stroll away along the Tweed. I was on the first public service to run on the rail route in 2015 and can still remember the palpable sense of excitement at a new railway line Scotland could be proud of. My girls enjoyed it too as they were on all the BBC news bulletins sporting their wee kilts. READ MORE: Restless Natives rides again as cult film gets a musical makeover I was also excited – as I always am on the well over a dozen plus times I've been – to be back in Melrose. For me, Melrose is the quintessential Borders market town, with its trim High Street alive with independent shops that thrive without the dominance of the supermarkets. There are lovely wee food shops, art galleries and antique shops. Despite its bijou size I seem to always find something different and when I was back last month I stumbled upon Felicity Bristow, a bubbly bookbinder. How many towns can boast a bookbinder? I say I stumbled across Felicity, but I was more led there by Stewart Wilson, a tour guide and blogger. Stewart was brought up in the Borders and his passion is infectious. He is a huge fan of Melrose. (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) 'It's a great wee town,' he told me, querying why more people don't come here. 'So many people miss out the Borders completely and Melrose could definitely handle plenty more visitors. For me, it should be as popular as the likes of St Andrews as there is so much here.' There is so much in and around Melrose. The town is twinned with Teba in Spain as that is where King Robert the Bruce's heart was almost lost to the Moors in battle. It survived to be interred here in what is arguably the most beguiling of the romantic Borders abbey ruins. Legend has it that not only did Merlin visit, but King Arthur lies buried in the Eildon Hills. There is Roman history too, with the sprawling Trimontium fort site and superb Trimontium Museum. I've written for The National before about its director John Reid, who reckons his findings around Melrose demonstrate 'Scotland was Rome's Afghanistan'. I've lost count of the people I've introduced Melrose to. I'll never forget the beaming smile of my reluctant walker brother when he summited Eildon Hill North, nor my wife's joy on arriving at Roulotte Retreat in the shadow of those same inspiring hills and checking into our authentic old-world French wood caravan by their duck pond. A smile that broadened when I warmed the wood-fired hot tub and got the Borders lamb on for dinner. Nor will I forget hiking and cycling with pals, nor flitting through the shops with my brace of daughters. Just across from the abbey is the impressive Harmony House. This palatial old dame is owned by the National Trust and you can stay with up to 11 guests. I enjoyed a brilliant weekend at Harmony with some great pals when we only had one daughter, Tara. It was glorious rambling around 'our own castle', enjoying privileged access to the renowned Harmony Garden right in the heart of Melrose. Melrose means a lot to Tara too. We chose her name here at Burts Hotel ( 17 years ago after whittling down a list of 50 potentials on the drive down the A68. Things seem to be clearer here in the fresh, Borders air and we quickly settled on Tara. The hotel has aged little since, offering an old-world sense of calm comfort and hospitality under the assured stewardship of Nick Henderson. His family have run Burts for 54 years and his brother James runs the Townhouse Hotel across the street. This sort of tradition and continuity are at the heart of Melrose, but this is a part of the world too that does not always get the credit it deserves for trying new things. Yes, its backbone is attractions like history and the Rugby Sevens it invented, but on this trip, I enjoyed a brilliant sauna with Cedar Hus Sauna and a visit to the ace new Tempest Brewing Co taproom near the station at Tweedbank. You can keep the Maldives; when I really want to relax and refresh, Melrose awaits just a scenic train trip away from Edinburgh.
