LAND reform has always been a top priority for the Scottish Parliament. So it is was good to see the SNP grassroots reminding the leadership that its land reform legislation currently before parliament was not radical enough (“SNP digs deep on land for the grassroots”, The Herald, October 24)). But for most of the general public the top priority should be ensure that we at least safeguard what we already have.
The 2003 Land Reform Act secured our rights of public access to most land, including the right to camp from loch shore to mountain summit. That right is now under threat from proposals by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to introduce by-laws to stop informal camping near to many of its lochs. This would reverse the progress achieved under the 2003 Act, would potentially criminalise many responsible citizens, and take us backwards towards the bad old days when landowners used the Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865 to keep people off their land. These proposals from the park are now awaiting Scottish Government approval. The same SNP grassroots will not want the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Dr Aileen McLeod, to grant such an approval.
Dr Mireille Pouget and Dr John Wright,
Drumbeag, Muckhart, Dollar.
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