Proposal for a National Park in Southwest Scotland: report

Annex D: A selection of quotes from the surveys from individuals, businesses and organisations

Supportive

“The close and longstanding relationship between landscape, nature, land use and community development, together with almost continuous habitation of the coastal strip for at least 6,000 years, have intertwined to create a unique identity in Galloway. This is evidenced by the overlap within the proposed boundary of natural and cultural designations, contrasting with the areas outside”.

“It's easy to pick the beauty spots such as Glen Trool and the Ayrshire coast, but national parks should also encompass the grittier, industrial heritage of the area. We live in the Doon Valley where the river Doon supports a rich diversity of wildlife, and the sides of the valley are still tattooed with the scars of the mining industry which once dominated the area”.

“Overall, this National Park has the potential to become a model for balancing environmental sustainability with community needs, benefiting both people and nature for generations to come”.

The creation of a national park would be like any business – it’s scary, it’s new, it involves change but with the right leaders it will grow and succeed and survive for a long time. The A75 isn't going to become full of people on day one. It takes years to market an area, to put things in place. The National Park also won't work without investment in infrastructure. Surely this is a win-win”.

Undecided

“We have so few years left to take decisive action on climate change and biodiversity crises. Is the NPA the best way to achieve a sustainable future for Galloway? In addition to one centralised board, there would need to be lots of local engagement mechanisms, much more than biosphere have done, and these would need to provide proper, meaningful spaces for dialogue to address issues and harness ideas of local people”.

Unless Scottish Government decide to hold a referendum on the proposed National Park for all eligible residents in the affected area with clearly defined boundaries, an indicative budget and a governance model, it is not clear whether the majority of local residents support the principle of a National Park being established or oppose it.

“This polarising debate has been conducted in the absence of any actual facts about the way in which this park may differ from others and so we have had unsubstantiated claims for huge benefits from the Yes lobby and understandable but possibly equally unfounded scare stories from the No lobby. At the very least this process needs a reset and much more considered approach if it is to go forward”

“An alternative model has the potential for greater local and community buy in, can build on existing initiatives and partnerships, could address issues of local democratic accountability and control, and offer a “light touch” management and governance regime”

Opposed

“The area has many very different characteristics (large scale farming; hill farming; mass afforestation, costs, sea, mountains, uplands) which need different strategies and managements. As such there is no single distinctive characteristic or coherent identity - particularly when considering such a large area as proposed. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous”.

“Does ever increasing … intensification of farming, along with monospecific coniferous forestry demonstrate those areas have a natural heritage? There's no doubt some of the land looks nice, but the commercial reality of these areas would make the aims of a National Park very difficult to achieve”.

“Galloway is an area that needs more attention from government. The best way to achieve this is by identifying the deficiencies in housing, employment, infrastructure, retail and hospitality in order to implement specific improvements for the benefit of the community. This targeted approach has to be better than simply setting up another layer of bureaucracy with a broad remit and little real accountability to the people who live in Galloway”.

“No, I do not believe that the traditional focus and activities of National Parks are what this region needs. We would like the National Park brand, for economic reasons, but we need a much more economically based delivery model than that which is provided via the National Park framework.”