A National Park Service
With the creation of another National Park there could be significant advantage in creating a single Scottish National Park service which delivers locally in each park. This may allow a simplification in structures and a consistency in managing each area. Standardised approaches to dealing with the climate crisis and nature restoration might have greater weight coming from a single unified voice. A single approach to planning inside and out of park boundaries would benefit developers, land managers and residents. each park is unique and some local solutions would be necessary however many things are the same and it would allow a single unified approach to communications, promotion and a single voice for the parks as a whole. This approach is very successful in the US and Canada.
Why the contribution is important
Creating a single NP service would simplify the important messages around national parks, what they can offer communities and their contribution to addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. bringing them together as a single entity will make a unified identity across Scotland that everyone can be proud of.
by BobbyCotton on May 14, 2022 at 07:56PM
Posted by Christinealba May 20, 2022 at 10:46
The other benefit I learned from Banff is that they restrict the housing supply to those that work in the community and hereditary owners ensuring there is always a supply for those who are required to work in the NP.
Looks and feels to me like a successful model.
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Posted by ajnaughton May 20, 2022 at 17:48
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Posted by malcolmrdickson May 25, 2022 at 13:38
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Posted by SHenryB96 May 25, 2022 at 22:33
This would allow for a wider heritage element to be brought into the governance of the areas, alongside the natural expertise held by NatureScot?
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Posted by SCNPandAPRS May 26, 2022 at 15:44
A National Parks Service could bring significant overall cost savings by removing the need to replicate all aspects of the Park Authorities for each National Park, although it would remain important to preserve an element of local democratic control, especially over planning matters. It could also make it easier to include in the National Park “family” areas of varying size, requiring different kinds and levels of management attention.
In addition, a National Parks Service could help to fill what is currently a gaping hole in Scotland’s capability for developing and managing its key tourism industry, which has been highlighted by the visitor management challenge mentioned under “Sustainable Tourism and Visitor Management”. The recent upsurge in ‘holidaying at home’ and the greater recognition of the benefits to individuals of getting out into the outdoors have cruelly exposed the fact that the effort that the country has put into marketing its attractions, and particularly its wealth of fine landscapes, has not been matched by provision for caring for them and improving access to them in ways that do not erode their value. The response to the pandemic has resulted in some short-term funding and attention for visitor management but has not provided a durable solution to a long-term problem, which may well become still more severe as we struggle to make the transition to a fairer, low carbon economy and society. A National Parks Service with a broad remit of the kind envisaged could have a central role in addressing it and thus ensuring that Scotland makes the very most of its outstanding landscape and other environmental assets.
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Posted by camusfearna May 31, 2022 at 11:18
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Posted by Gorr73 May 31, 2022 at 12:02
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Posted by adm June 06, 2022 at 16:47
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