NATIONAL TREASURE
Five stunning areas of Scotland are in the running to join the Trossachs and Cairngorms as the country’s third national park
FIVE stunning areas of Scotland are in the running to become the country’s next national park to help preserve their beautiful landscapes and heritage.
Lochaber, Galloway, the Borders, Loch Awe and Tay Forest have had bids placed on a shortlist by ministers.
The SNP-Green power-sharing deal at Holyrood vowed to add at least one more national park to Scotland’s existing two in the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond by 2026.
The status would allow the area to set up a powerful park authority to protect natural and cultural heritage with a say in local planning decisions.
Advocates claim the move can bolster tourism and investment as well support the environment. But some bids have attracted a strong local backlash over fears they would impact local farmers and infrastructure.
It’s more than two decades since a new national park was set up in Scotland.
The Scottish Government said it will now judge each proposal and expects to announce a preferred site in the summer.
Biodiversity minister and Greens co-leader Lorna Slater said: “The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Parks have shown how valuable national park status can be.
“Once we have a site identified, we will engage again with the people in the area to look at determining things like park boundaries and balancing environmental protection with helping the communities and local enterprises thrive.”
Some of the strongest opposition to new national park schemes has come locally from the agriculture sector.
Farming union NFU Scotland has claimed existing parks have “failed to make a positive contribution” to the sector.
It follows angry protests in January from Cairngorms farmers outside the park authority’s offices in January.
Their chief concern has been the release of beavers into the mountain reserve under a conservation scheme. They say the dam-building animals can flood and wreck farmland.
But campaigners insist social, economic and environmental benefits of national park status are huge and have the potential to help tackle the rural jobs crisis.
Kat Jones of countryside charity Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) said: “National parks are in a unique position to lead the way on the nature and climate crises while supporting thriving, sustainable communities.”
John Thomson, chair of Scottish Campaign for National Parks, said: “I want to thank everyone who has worked so positively and proactively with their local communities to discuss and explore local priorities and the opportunities that national park status can bring.”