AHEAD of this week’s council vote on if Galloway should be a National Park, campaigners are calling on the public to ‘show love’ for the scheme.
And they say the latest research shows a new National Park means big benefits, while doing nothing could have a seriously negative impact.
Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS), the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP), Galloway National Park Association (GNPA) and the John Muir Trust say the creation of Scotland’s third National Park would be a gamechanger for an area that faces major environmental, socio-economic and demographic challenges.
They have highlighted the new Scottish Government Strategic Environmental Assessment, which looked at how a National Park would affect everything from health and heritage to environmental quality and climate change. It found the benefits are the most with the larger national park proposed. When they looked at the option of not having a park, there was a clear negative impact.
Commenting, Kat Jones, director of APRS said: “With the consultation closing on Valentine’s Day, we are asking people to show their love for a new National Park in Galloway by taking part. We are especially encouraging those who live in Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire to get involved, as they have the most to gain from a new National Park.”
John Mayhew, chair of SCNP, said: “National Parks bring so many benefits, not just in recognising a special landscape, with its particular history, communities, and nature, but in the regeneration of communities and in creating a sustainable economy.
And GNPA chair Rob Lucas, above, added: “The research is crystal clear. A National Park will play a hugely positive role in building a positive future for our wildlife, countryside, communities, families and economy.
“But the failure to seize this opportunity risks further decline.”