Calls for wild land safeguards

Scotland’s wild land should enjoy the same protection as its national parks, a leading charity has said.

The John Muir Trust has said planning law should be amended so that 42 areas of wild land, first mapped out in 2014, are protected from large-scale development.

The Scottish Parliament’s local government and communities committee is currently scrutinising a Planning (Scotland) Bill.

Helen McDade, head of policy for the John Muir Trust, said: “Bringing wild land areas into line with national parks would benefit everyone – developers, communities, environmentalists, planning officials, councillors and other interested parties – by removing an important element of confusion.

“The past four years have seen a number of applications from commercial developers fail because of their unsuitable location on wild land, but along the way they have devoured time and money through the whole protracted planning process – including costly public local inquiries – that would have been better spent exploring more suitable alternative options.

“We recognise that there is no pristine wilderness in Scotland, but we do have more than our share of rugged, mountainous, awe-inspiring terrain. These areas can accommodate sustainable economic activity. But we believe we need to draw the line at large-scale industrialstyle infrastructure.”