Farming Thrives in Scotland’s National Parks: New Report
The benefits National Park status brings for farmers operating within them have been set out in a new report published today [1] and commissioned by Scottish Environment LINK [2]. Scottish Ministers have committed to the designation of a new National Park for Scotland by 2026, and in July confirmed that Galloway is their proposed location [3]. This report builds on a LINK report published two weeks ago, which looked at the wider socio-economic benefits National Parks bring [4].
Farm businesses in Scotland’s two existing National Parks - Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, both designated more than 20 years ago - have access to the full range of support available to farmers elsewhere in the country, but both National Parks have also set up additional support funds to help businesses succeed in line with the Parks’ wider social, economic and environmental objectives. These funding streams are backed by external sources specific to National Park Authorities, from the Scottish Government and other external funders, including lottery funding.
These funds include the Cairngorms 2030 Future Farming Initiative [4] and the Nature Restoration fund [5] offered by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority. Some of the grants they provide support marketing measures, some help deliver nature restoration projects, and others support the development of high value farming income streams in ways that fit the objectives of the National Park.
In addition, operating within a National Park brings marketing opportunities, such as the special branding available to food producers working in the Cairngorms, which is used by more than 200 companies.
Many farm businesses - inside and outwith National Parks - have diversified to include accommodation, recreation and other tourism-based revenue streams, and both existing National Parks Authorities work to support these objectives, while sensitively managing visitor numbers. Both National Parks have the resources from the Scottish Government to employ countryside rangers, deliver suitable signage, invest in bike trails and car parks, and to encourage responsible tourism within our most iconic landscapes.
Deborah Long, Director of Scottish Environment LINK, said:
“In Scotland, National Parks are intended to protect and enhance the special qualities of an area’s landscape, including both natural and cultural heritage. Scotland has very little true wilderness, and in many cases, those special qualities are a result of the way the land has been used and worked for many generations by farmers, crofters and other land managers.
“A key objective of our National Parks, existing and future, is therefore to support farming and other food production. Farmers working in both the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Parks have access to the same funds as farmers elsewhere, but on top of that, additional money is made available within them for work which supports the National Parks’ aims.”
Kat Jones, Director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, said:
"One of the key roles of National Park Authorities is around planning, helping to support the right projects coming forward and approving them accordingly. The result is that businesses and residents in Scotland’s existing National Parks actually have a slightly higher chance of getting planning permission than those elsewhere in the country.
“One of the reasons for this is that - in law - a majority of a National Park Authority’s board must be local, either as councillors, or as local residents elected directly. This local control is what drives the success of our existing National Parks, and will do for those designated in future, including in Galloway."
Neil Picken, who has a 330 acre farm on the Solway coast, within the area currently under consideration for the proposed Galloway National Park, said:
"A National Park will bring investment to the area, and we need to bring in well-paid jobs to stop our young people leaving. Schools are shutting for lack of pupils. We can sit back and do nothing but this is our golden chance to do something different.
“National Parks are successful worldwide, we need to grasp this opportunity. We need to get people back on the land and in the villages."
“Now there's opportunities to discuss with NatureScot, and we need to take these, it’s far better to engage than to oppose as there are so many possibilities for win-wins. We need people on the ground getting involved with making the policies and getting proactive to make a success of this opportunity."
Contact:
Morag Wells, Scottish Environment LINK morag@scotlink.org 07394033548
1. The report is attached and is available here: https://www.scotlink.org/publications/
2. Scottish Environment LINK is the forum for Scotland’s voluntary environment community, with over 40 member bodies representing a broad spectrum of environmental interests with the common goal of contributing to a more environmentally sustainable society. See:
3. The announcement from Scottish Ministers is here:
https://www.gov.scot/news/new-national-park-is-proposed-in-galloway/
4. For that report, see:
https://www.scotlink.org/publication/social-and-economic-benefits-of-national-parks/
5. See:
https://cairngorms.co.uk/voices/cairngorms-future-farming/
6. See: