The SNP government has been urged to scrap "unpopular" plans to turn one of Scotland’s most iconic regions into a national park after the collapse of the Bute House agreement with the Scottish Greens.
Under a plan driven by ex-biodiversity minster Lorna Slater, five bids were accepted for schemes to turn swathes of Scottish countryside including Lochaber into national parks.
Ms Slater travelled to Lochaber earlier this month to speak to supporters of the plan but activists claim she failed to hold a similar face-to-face meeting with them.
They maintain that parks like Cairngorm cost around £13m a year to run and benefits could be delivered much more cheaply by existing organisations.
Ahead of a debate on national parks in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday the Lochaber National Park NO More campaign has claimed a survey conducted by supporters of the Lochaber bid was "corrupted and flawed".
It follows a meeting of farmers, business figures and politicians opposed to the plan in Fort William last week.
Campaign leader Deborah Carmichael, whose family has crofted for generations, said: “There is just so much wrong with the suggestion that Lochaber becomes a national park, and we believe the consultancy process has already been corrupted.
“It was positively biased to produce the result they wanted, it was open to multiple submissions by the same person, and then supporters could submit more responses using dummy email addresses.
"The survey was tainted and untrustworthy and should not have been used as evidence of support to proceed with this nomination.
“It’s a great pity the survey is now not visible as everyone could see how biased it was in favour of producing a favourable result for the Lochaber National Park Working Group,” added Mrs Carmichael.
“If another region wants a national park that’s fine, but we need to make sure the SNP Government understands we want them to get their hands off the Highlands.
The meeting organised by Mrs Carmichael was attended by Lochaber’s biggest farmer, Donald Houston, renowned Arisaig fisherman and mussel farmer Ian McKinnon, and crofter/entrepreneur Ruaridh Ormiston, who recently retired from the oil drilling industry.
Joining by video link were SNP MP Fergus Ewing, Fort William and Ardnamurchan Lib Dem Councillor Angus MacDonald, and NFU Scotland Vice President Alasdair Macnab.
Mr Macnab said: “NFU Scotland is against the creation of new national parks in Scotland, and I can reassure our farming and crofting members in Lochaber that if the area makes it through the nomination process, we will be there to support them.
“Our opposition is based on the experience of many farmers and crofters currently living and working in either the Cairngorms National Park or the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
"In recent consultation with them, it was clear that existing parks had failed to make a positive contribution to farming and crafting."
“NFUS is calling for independent evidence of the value that existing parks bring to farmers, crofters and the local community and a similarly robust case why the national park outcomes cannot be achieved by other existing funding programmes such as VisitScotland and regional enterprise bodies.
“In the concerning absence of any detail on how new national parks are to be funded in the face of the current national fiscal pressures, and the potential that another layer of complexity and bureaucracy will be laid on farmers and crofters, we believe the means to achieve the outcomes being sought are already in place without creating unpopular and unnecessary national parks.”
The Scottish Government has said national parks attract investment and jobs and play a crucial role in tackling climate change. There are two existing parks in the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond.
Chris Greenwood, an expert on tourism policy at Glasgow Caledonian University said there is no doubt the "brand" and focus on conservation helps attract visitors.
He said: ""As society has evolved and there is a greater awareness of the individual impact of tourism, we now look for more purposeful experiences. The parks I feel personify that."
READ MORE:
Scottish areas in the running to be national parks revealed
Cairngorms National Park status was "tourism magnet" says man who helped create UK's biggest
Cllr MacDonald, has previously claimed that £130m is needed to sustain a national park for ten years, which local people would rather see spent on a new hospital for Lochaber.
He said: “In the West Highlands we have been pleading for infrastructure funding from the Scottish Government for 20 years.
"Our hospital in Fort William should have been replaced decades ago, we have half the care beds we need, the A82 must be one of the worst roads in Scotland and we desperately need a bridge over the Corran Narrows.
Mr MacKinnon added: "Where is the money coming from? The budgets are not created by National Park status, but taken from a budget near you.
"At a time of unparalleled austerity it would be robbing the people of Scotland to pay for a dumped minister's vanity project."
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