New National Park Update - August 2024

A plan for the public engagement and consultation to be undertaken during the statutory Reporting process (the next legally required* stage in the process that could lead to the designation of a new National Park in Galloway) was recently published (August 2024). NatureScot has been commissioned by the Scottish Government to lead this work and has provided information on how they will investigate the suitability of the area as a National Park and the options for its size, powers and functions, and governance arrangements. The published plan covers the period from now until the end of April 2025. At that point, NatureScot will deliver a report on the responses to the proposal and advice to Ministers as to whether to proceed with designating a new National Park and on what basis (including the preferred boundary and governance arrangements for a National Park Authority).

Until mid-October the Reporter’s focus will be on raising awareness of the proposal and information gathering, as well as on work to design an effective consultation strategy and to develop the draft proposals for consultation.  The plan sets out the wide range of engagement options for local people, stakeholders and anyone else interested which range from leaflets, to meetings and webinars and an online portal for information and surveys.

A formal consultation will be conducted between November 2024 and January 2025, seeking views on a range of issues and opinions on options for designation. NatureScot aim to reach as wide an audience as possible via a range of consultation materials and methods.

Analysis of responses will be carried out by NatureScot in February, followed by the production of a report to Ministers based on the findings. NatureScot say ‘The report will contain a detailed analysis of the balance of opinion on the matters considered, including specific reference to the views expressed by local communities and businesses (including those representing agriculture and forestry interests) and by bodies and agencies representative of interests which fall outside NatureScot’s main remit. Separate reports will provide a detailed account of the responses received from each of the consultation elements listed above.”

For more information and updates on the plan for the Reporting process look at nature.scot, whilst further information about the whole statutory process for designating a national park in Scotland can be found here.  Papers detailing the Reporting process prior to the designation of Scotland’s two existing National Parks can be found on the same webpage under the heading “The statutory reporting process”.

NatureScot say that any questions about the process can be emailed to the Reporting team at newnationalparkreporter@nature.scot

 *  The National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 provides the legal framework for the establishment National Parks in Scotland. It sets out the designation process including the required assessment and consultation by a reporter appointed by Scottish Ministers. The Act includes three conditions that an area proposed for National Park designation must meet:

1.        that the area is of outstanding national importance because of its natural heritage or the combination of its natural and cultural heritage,

2.        that the area has a distinctive character and a coherent identity, and

3.        that designating the area as a National Park would meet the special needs of the area and would be the best means of ensuring that the National Park aims are collectively achieved in relation to the area in a coordinated way.