7 days ago
Decision on whether to designate Galloway as national park set to be announced
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon will make a ministerial statement at Holyrood this afternoon.
A decision on whether to designate Galloway as a national park is due to be made today.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon is set to make a ministerial statement at Holyrood this afternoon.
Earlier this month, NatureScot presented the findings of its consultation on the issue to Scottish Ministers.
Should Ms Gougeon announce there is to be a Galloway National Park – which could also cover parts of Ayrshire – there would then be a further consultation.
The issue has proven deeply divisive, with The Galloway National Park Association (GNPA) claiming a national park would bring major investment and international attention to the region.
GNPA chairman, Rob Lucas, said: 'Galloway desperately needs a national park to give it the long term certainty and commitment that has been missing for so long.
'Our area has a fragile economy and remains among the poorest rural areas in the UK, despite two decades of intensive forestry, farm aggregation and large-scale renewables. We need a different approach that works with nature to build a resilient and sustainable future for local people.
'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.'
However, the No Galloway National Park campaign has a string of concerns, including the potential for over tourism, rising house prices and whether existing infrastructure could cope with more visitors.
No Galloway National Park founders Liz Hitschmann and Denise Brownlee said: 'Thursday's announcement needs to bring clarity and certainty for the community; our politicians owe us that much after months of confusion and misinformation.
'The No Galloway National Park campaign hopes that the Scottish Government has listened to the community and will deliver.'
Dumfries and Galloway councillors are undecided on whether or not to back the idea and NFU Scotland claims three quarters of members are against the idea.
Scotland is currently home to two national parks – Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
Director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, Kat Jones, said: '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.'
Galloway and West Dumfries Tory MSP Finlay Carson believes today's announcement may not be a yes or no for a national park.
He said: 'I believe there are few, on any side of the debate, who believe a national park based on the current two would be in any way suitable for Galloway.
'I believe this will sway heavily on the government's mind and, as a result, it will not proceed with a full designation order.
'Rather than dump the whole idea it could be that ministers will look again during the next session of parliament, potentially scaling down the plan and clearly shape it for the unique nature of our landscape and associated land use.
'What has resulted from this whole exercise is bitter division and anger within our communities that will potentially take years to heal.
'Neighbour turning on neighbour, good friends falling out – and above all, the creation of a great mistrust that will take a long time to heal, if ever.
'What should have been an exercise on potentially improving the quality of life in Galloway, creating employment opportunities, boosting the local economy quickly descended into nasty bickering as both camps slugged it out like heavyweight boxers.'
No Galloway National Park founders Liz Hitschmann and Denise Brownlee hit out at Mr Carson's comments, and said: 'If recent indications prove correct, most local people who contributed to the consultation are against the park proposal.
"Many of their concerns are shared and well founded, based on evidence that national parks are not successfully protecting the natural environment and have an extremely negative impact on local communities.
'The lack of evidence to counter this, indeed the dearth of clear information within the proposal, was a cause of deep frustration which exacerbated the divisive nature of the debate.
'Long term damage to community relations has become a genuine concern, so to have this flippantly dismissed by a Conservative MSP as 'nasty bickering' and likened to a boxing match is not only demeaning, false and unnecessary, it does absolutely nothing to heal rifts.'
