Visitor rangers here to stay as project backed
Perth and Kinross Council’s Visitor Ranger service has been made permanent.
The service was piloted in areas such as around Clunie Loch to provide advice to campers and visitors and help ensure local beauty spots can continue to be enjoyed by visitors and residents alike.
Independent Strathearn councillor Rhona Brock brought forward a proposal to make the service permanent at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council on Wednesday, August 17.
She sought reassurance that the service was “not a temporary sticking plaster” to resolving issues.
Some Conservative councillors - while supportive - did not feel that now was the time to make a permanent financial commitment.
Cllr Brock said: “Huge surges in population always brings issue and our area was no exception.
“The Visitor Ranger service has proved enormously successful in helping to ensure visitors have the best experience possible when they visit our area [and also] has significantly reduced the issues our residents were facing.”
This was seconded by fellow Strathearn councillor Stewart Donaldson.
The SNP councillor said his group believed “quite clearly – given the evidence we have to hand – the service should be made permanent”.
The service was piloted following a rise in visitor management issues which really came to the fore post-lockdown in the summer of 2020.
Problems arose with rubbish, damage to property, parking and ‘dirty camping.’
PKC set aside money to introduce this service in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 council budgets.
Over that time rangers have engaged with thousands of visitors offering advice which both Cllr Brock and Cllr Donaldson said had created “a positive visitor experience as well as improving the lives of residents”, according to the motion.
Highland Perthshire Conservative councillor John Duff said the rangers had done a “marvellous job and in very challenging circumstances”.
He added: “In a very short time, the ranger service has become a very welcome addition to our resources and I would hope we could make the service a permanent one.
“However, we cannot escape the fact the council is facing the most difficult of financial positions – potentially a deficit of £24 million – and if local authorities need to use additional council funds to solve the current council pay dispute that figure could be pushed up further possibly by another £4.5m.
“Facing that possibility I submit that now is not the time to make this decision.”
Cllr Duff said the “prudent and sensible course of action” was to make a decision in the context of a budgetsetting process service.
He added: “I think we owe that to all of our staff.”
Conservative Strathallan councillor Keith Allan seconded Cllr Duff’s amendment saying he would be “very nervous” about making the financial decision now.
He said: “I think it’s a great proposal but the timing is not right.”
Labour Carse of Gowrie councillor Alasdair Bailey said: “I’m frankly quite confused by this Conservative amendment. The Conservative group has, between them, secured multiple front pages in the local press waxing lyrical about so-called ‘dirty camping.’”
He added: “I’m now in the strange position of having to vote for a Conservative policy in the face of Conservative opposition to sort out a problem that Conservatives have convinced us all is of higher order than the cost of living crisis. I need to take a wee rest.”
Council leader Grant Laing argued waiting until the budgeting process in February/March left the council with six weeks to train staff, get vans liveried and take care of other preparatory measures.
The SNP Strathtay elected member said: “Now is the time – no dither and delay. The pilot’s been successful. That’s the idea of a pilot – if it’s successful you follow through with it.”
Cllr Laing, Cllr Brock and Provost Xander McDade said there were possibilities of obtaining external funding.
The Independent and SNP motion was supported by both its groups, Labour and two Liberal Democrat councillors.
It received 25 votes in its favour, with eight votes for the amendment and seven abstentions.