A bid has been launched to force the Scottish Government to hold a referendum in Dumfries & Galloway to decide whether much of the area should be designated a National Park.
Galloway has been selected from five bids to become Scotland’s third National Park, after an application from the Galloway National Park Association (GNPA) which wants to see the park created before the Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2026.
A controversial consultation is currently being run by the Scottish Government’s NatureScot agency, which opponents of the Park plan say is “hopelessly biased.” Last week, SNP Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, ruled out a referendum in favour of the NatureScot consultation.
But now a group of Dumfries & Galloway councillors are demanding a referendum, and the proposal will go to a vote at next week’s full council meeting, after a motion was lodged by Councillor Dougie Campbell of the independent Democratic Alliance Group (DAG).
Cllr Campbell, who represents the Dee and Glenkens ward, which includes Gatehouse of Fleet and Kirkcudbright, wants the Scottish Government to stage a referendum after the consultation ends in February, and his motion has been seconded by the Scottish Conservative councillor for Castle Douglas, Pauline Drysdale.
Cllr Campbell said: “The bedrock of democracy is people having a meaningful say on their own future. The proposal that Galloway is designated as Scotland’s next National Park could have significant ramifications for generations to come.
“The ongoing consultation is dividing our communities in a way I have never seen before, and people feel disempowered. That’s why it’s important that the Scottish Government stands by its very own values of supporting rural communities, community empowerment and local decision making. There can be no better way to demonstrate this by holding a local referendum.”
A demonstration against the park plan from supporters of the No Galloway National Park (NGNP) campaign is set to be staged outside the council’s headquarters in Dumfries before the debate next Thursday, December 12. NGNP campaigners are also urging their supporters to write to their councillors to ask them to support the motion.
Cllr Drysdale said: “The GNPA state ‘A National Park Made In Galloway For Galloway,’ yet the vast majority of residents feel the NatureScot consultation is flawed and does not meet the National Standards of Engagement.
“A referendum is a clearer and fairer method of listening to our constituents with a straight yes or no. We live in a democracy, not a dictatorship which is why we are putting forward a motion for a local referendum. The opinions of local residents come first, whichever way it goes.”
DAG Cllr Iain Howie, who also represents Castle Douglas, added: “Rightly or wrongly, it has to be accepted that a large percentage of the community fear their views on the issue will not be adequately articulated by NatureScot’s consultation. As such, the best way of allaying these fears would be to hold a local referendum.”
NGNP co-founder Denise Brownlee said: “We have absolutely no faith in the hopelessly biased NatureScot consultation, and not only is a referendum a fairer way forward, but it is only right that the appalling way this consultation is being handled is properly aired in a democratic forum like a meeting of Dumfries & Galloway Council.”
Her colleague, NGNP co-founder Liz Hitschmann, added: “Trust in NatureScot hasn’t just disappeared, it never existed in the first place because of their involvement in the process to promote the National Park concept.
“Everything they have done subsequently, including trying to persuade schoolchildren, has been designed to give them the result they wanted in the first place. It’s a disgrace to local democracy.”
The full text of the motion is:
“Dumfries and Galloway Council note the ongoing public consultation by NatureScot, on behalf of the Scottish Government, on the preferred status for Galloway to be designated as Scotland’s next National Park, under the provisions of the National Park (Scotland) Act 2000.
“Furthermore, it is noted that there are competing arguments for and against this designation which have divided opinion, and that designation may have substantial impact, both positive or negative, on those people living in Galloway.
“Dumfries and Galloway Council calls on the Scottish Government, following conclusion of the consultation process, and before any decision is made by ministers on designation, to hold and finance a local referendum, to enable those eligible in Galloway to vote, and have their say on whether or not Galloway be designated as Scotland’s next National Park.”
