Farmers in the south west of Scotland have hit out at plans to make Galloway the nation’s latest National Park.
The National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) says it will continue to oppose plans by the Scottish Government for Galloway to become a new National Park.
The area which would span across Dumfries and Galloway and parts of Ayrshire was confirmed as the Scottish Government’s preferred choice today, as they seek to create the country’s third National Park by 2026.
The union says farmers in Dumfriesshire, Stewartry, East and South Ayrshire could be impacted by the proposal because it would create problems for housing, transport, access, and planning.
The news that Galloway had fended off bids from Scottish Borders, Tay Forest, Loch Awe, and more was well received by Scottish politicians today as Co-Leader of the Greens, Lorna Slater, said the status would be ‘transformative’ for the area’s nature and economy.
Now Galloway has been chosen as the next site, a public consultation will get underway to assess its suitability for National Park status.
However, NFUS fear that awarding the status to Galloway would cause authorities to prioritise tourism and visitor access over farming and crofting business, and it would then have a detrimental impact on the rural economy and natural environment.
Vice President Alasdair Macnab said: “NFU Scotland views the creation of a new national park in Scotland as unacceptable, a view supported by 93 per cent of our members, and I can reassure our farmers in the Galloway area that we will continue to support your opposition every step of the way.
READ MORE:
- Galloway set to become Scotland's next National Park as consultation begins
- Date set for decision on controversial Flamingo Land proposals
- Costs revealed for new national park 'vanity project'
“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, it is clear that existing parks have failed to make a positive contribution to farming and crofting. The consultation process now starting must be transparent, credible and inclusive – which it has not been in Galloway to date.”
Specifically, the union believes that increased visitor numbers could price out the local population, at a time when there is already a lack of affordable rural housing for young people in the Dumfries and Galloway area.
Transport concerns relate directly to the area’s infrastructure on the A75 and A77 trunk roads. The union argues that the roads are not fit for the existing population, never mind increased visitor numbers, and it couldn’t sustain the influx of visitors alongside existing Euro route freight, agricultural, and rural business traffic.
At a time when farmers and land managers are working with the new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill, NFUS believes a new National Park designation would add a further layer of bureaucracy and stifle innovation.
Mr Macnab added: “Agricultural and food production and what agricultural businesses deliver to the rural economy must be central in any future decision about a possible Galloway National Park.
“Scottish Government must bring forward independent evidence of the value that the existing National Parks bring to farmers and the local community. In addition, a robust case to demonstrate why the National Park outcomes cannot be achieved by other existing funding programmes such as VisitScotland and regional enterprise bodies, such as South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE) must be provided.
“Given the importance of the rural economy to the area, those who live and work within the proposed Galloway area deserve a platform for economic growth and development, and not be pickled in aspic by top tier rules and regulations driven by National Park requirements.”
The findings of the new public consultation will be submitted to Ministers in April 2025, before Scottish Parliament vote to approve the status.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel