Galloway and Ayrshire National Park proposal: advice on natural heritage matters
NatureScot's advice on the proposal for a new national park.
To: Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
From: Prof Colin Galbraith FRSE, Chair, NatureScot
05 May 2025
Dear Cabinet Secretary,
Official Sensitive: Proposal for a new National Park in Galloway – advice on natural heritage matters
I am writing to present our advice on the proposal for a new National Park in Galloway as your statutory adviser on natural heritage. As requested, this is separate to our advice as Reporter.
Our advice in this letter is guided by our detailed expertise on the natural heritage and experience of providing advice on all aspects of nature within the Galloway and Ayrshire regions, and our wider understanding of the Government’s ambitions for halting biodiversity loss throughout Scotland, as expressed in the recently published Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.
It is clear that we are in the midst of the interlinked nature loss and climate crisis that is already having a profound impact on nature in Scotland, with an urgent need for nature recovery across the country. The recent launch of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy is a major contribution to this recovery, as is the Nature Restoration Fund. All this will help meet the urgent 30 by 30 challenge.
Our advice is guided also by the effective operation and delivery of nature recovery across the two existing National Parks. We are aware of the good work done by them and in other National Parks across the UK, not least their ability to obtain private funding to support the delivery of National Park aims, including nature restoration and climate resilience that has been inspiring. Their work is impressive also in terms of growing the local economy and facilitating and managing public access to the countryside.
Given this context, and recognising the diversity of views expressed in the consultation, on balance we see the benefit for nature and for nature recovery, and indeed also for the local economy, in pursuing the creation of a National Park in southwest Scotland at a limited geographical scale as outlined in the map below. We note that the report as Reporter outlines a series of complex issues and concerns raised during the consultation, and it is clear that it was difficult for many to visualise what a park would really mean for the area and how those concerns might be addressed. These issues and concerns would need to be further considered in depth.
We note in particular that a substantial percentage of the area we recommend for designation is already in government ownership of one form or another, hence implementation may be simpler than that for a larger area under more diverse ownership. Indeed, in many ways a Park with these characteristics, with powers similar to the existing National Parks, would represent a logical extension of the approach outlined in the consultation report to enhance existing measures and institutional arrangements to better support nature recovery.
While very different in its natural heritage qualities, character and special needs to the existing two National Parks, we consider that the recommended area satisfies the conditions for National Park status set out in the Act. This accords with the assessment of the proposal undertaken by the appraisal panel and the Strategic Environmental Assessment completed by Scottish Government.
We consider that the natural heritage case is strongest for a National Park based on the core Hills and Coast area (see Annex 1 and Option A in Section 4 of our Reporter Advice). This view is based on our analysis of the landscape and natural heritage characteristics of the area which concluded that this core area most strongly meets all three conditions of the Act. Compared to the more extensive area we also considered as Reporter, it has a stronger degree of coherence and identity that would lend itself to collaborative management and effective promotion of the natural environment.
We would emphasise also that the needs for nature restoration and economic development in the wider area are of great importance. We envisage that the proposed Park should bring associated benefits beyond its boundaries and build a close and supportive relationship with the people and businesses in the wider Galloway and Ayrshire area.
Given our preference to progress with the Core area as the basis for a future National Park in Southwest Scotland, we are of the view that developing a model of powers and functions that are similar to the arrangements of the existing National Parks in Scotland, including both strong local representation and national appointees, would be appropriate for a new National Park in this area. Provided it was well funded, this would build on the existing management arrangements and enable greater coherence and strategic direction to current management of the natural resources and visitor activities, within this Core area.
The contribution of land management to the special qualities of this National Park is significant and for a National Park to be successful, any National Park Authority would need to develop a positive partnership between it and the farming, forestry and renewables sectors in particular.
I recognise that this advice in our capacity as your natural heritage advisors differs from the conclusions we reached as the Government’s reporter. This is of course a consequence of the greater weight which in that capacity we necessarily place on the halting of biodiversity loss and the needs for nature recovery. There are certainly merits in either recommended approach.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these matters with you at your convenience and to consider the option of a smaller National Park focussing on nature recovery and/or the detail of other measures that might be put in place.
Yours sincerely,
Prof Colin Galbraith FRSE
Chair, NatureScot
Map of core area
Contact
Email: NationalParks@gov.scot