• What does a National Park do?

    The National Park (Scotland) Act 2000 sets out four aims: to conserve natural and cultural heritage, promote sustainable use of natural resources, promote understanding and enjoyment of the area, and to promote sustainable social and economic development.

    Sounds great, but this means the two existing Scottish parks, in the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & Trossachs, can control planning applications and set strategies for land use. 

    The Cairngorms authority “calls in” any applications in which it might have an interest from the local councils, but the Loch Lomond & Trossachs authority has full control of planning applications in its area.

    The Scottish Government hopes the Galloway National Park will encourage biodiversity and tourism.

  • Where does that leave local councils?

    Where the park authority is deciding, local councils are asked for their views as a consultee.

  • Who controls the National Parks?

    They are run by a chief executive who is overseen by a board made up of Scottish Government appointees, local council nominations and some elected local representatives.

    In Loch Lomond, the board has 17 members, with 12 appointed by the Scottish Government, of which six are nominated by councils. Five are elected by the community.

    The Cairngorms board has 19 members, with seven appointed by Scottish Ministers, seven nominated by local councils, and five elected locally.

  • Why are local people elected to these boards outnumbered?

    The rules are laid out in the National Park (Scotland) Act 2000, which dictates that at least a fifth must be directly elected. Anyone can stand for election if they live in the Park area, but no-one can be appointed if they have financial interests within the Park area, which rules out local farmers.

  • How much does it cost to run a National Park?

    The 2024-25 budget for the Cairngorms National Park estimates expenditure of just over £14 million, and the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park is slightly higher at £14.4 million. The Scottish Government provides most of the cash through grants totalling £21.8 million.

  • What’s the benefit of being in a National Park area?

    It’s very hard to tell, because claims about benefits presume nothing would happen without them, which is nonsense.  NatureScot has a budget of £65.6 million (up £14.8 million from 2023), The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has £52.6 million (up £11 million from 2023), and VisitScotland’s budget is £47 million. And the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency has a £27.4 million budget. 

    But despite claims about community benefits, in Loch Lomond & Trossachs, which has been a National Park for 20 years, 75% of local people cannot afford average house prices, half of water bodies are not in good ecological condition, and 73% of visitors explore by car in an area where roads are often very narrow.

  • Do you need a National Park to boost tourism?

    Absolutely not. Wester Ross and Sutherland isn’t a National Park, but VisitScotland promoted the NC 500 route and now those Highland roads are virtually impassable in the summer thanks to camper vans.

  • What do residents in the other two parks think?

    In the Cairngorms National Park, farmers and crofters had to create their own Board in order to have their voices heard and this year there was a demonstration in Ballater before an authority meeting. 

    The National Farmers Union Scotland, which also represents crofters in the two National Park areas, found a clear majority of members felt a new park would increase bureaucracy and stifle growth and innovation, increase access-related problems, reduce housing availability for the local population, bring no additional benefits over and above existing policies and legislation. They also fear tourism and visitor access is prioritised ahead of the rural economy and natural environment.

  • What are the boundaries of the proposed Galloway National Park?

    We don’t know. So far there are three different ideas, and more may emerge, but they involve South and East Ayrshire as well as Dumfries & Galloway. 

  • If the benefits are unclear and the boundaries haven’t been set, how can I be expected to know what to think about a National Park for Galloway?

    Good question. It was an idea cooked up by a handful of people without any meaningful consultation with local people because a new National Park was a Green Party demand as part of the now scrapped Bute House coalition agreement with the SNP.  A new National Park wasn’t even mentioned in the SNP’s 2021 election manifesto.

  • Is it a done deal? NatureScot’s information talks about a new Galloway National Park as if the decision has been taken?

    You would be forgiven for thinking so, and if objections aren’t made loud and clear, it certainly will be. We think the language was deliberately chosen to make it look as if it was happening, and the only remaining decision was about what shape the National Park would take.

    It is essential that the option of rejecting a National Park outright remains, and if that is what most people want, then it should be abandoned. The consultation must contain the option to reject, and our voices must be heard. 

  • Why has Galloway been chosen as a proposed site?

    The Scottish Government received five bids, and we believe the Scottish Government felt there was less opposition in Dumfries & Galloway. The consultation is the chance to show what a big mistake it was to take us for granted.

  • How is NatureScot involved in the National Park bid?

    NatureScot was involved in the selection process which led to Galloway’s nomination, and the agency has now been asked to run the consultation on proposals for a third park. As it is still Scottish Government policy to create a new park by 2026, the agency is tasked with delivering it.

    NatureScot is running the current consultation until January 2025 and will then report its recommendations to ministers in April.

  • Once NatureScot’s recommendation is made, what happens next?

    Scottish Government ministers must decide whether to take the plan further forward and if they do, legislation will need to be passed in the Scottish Parliament.

    That means a bill will need to be prepared, followed by public consultation and then it will need to receive majority support in the Scottish Parliament. . As Scottish Government policy is to create a third park in 2026, it will need to be done before the election in May 2026. It means this is already a rush job.