Galloway, in South-West Scotland, has been selected as the preferred site for Scotland’s new national park.
The Scottish government have committed to declaring a new site by 2026, to join Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and become Scotland’s third national park.
Chosen from a shortlist, Galloway covers an area of 3000 km squared. It is home to numerous natural and cultural landmarks.
Designation would result in the area, including wildlife, cultural sites, and landscape, becoming protected by the government.
The Galloway National Park Association (GNPA) say that this status would be beneficial to Galloway. Adding that that new legislation could help improve water quality and protect forests.
Rob Lucas, the chair of GNPA, says that the move would bring “transformational economic and environmental benefits” and would help “put Galloway on the map”.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland has firmly opposed the proposal.
They have said in a statement that, “Farmers and land managers will be working with the new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill and the Biodiversity Strategy and a new National Park designation will add a further layer of bureaucracy.”
In the same statement they said they were concerned that tourism and visitor access would be prioritised “over farming and crofting businesses in Galloway” and that this would be “to the detriment of the rural economy”.
The Scottish government will not announce their final decision until 2026.
“‘Patchwork Hills’ – Moffat” by cazalegg is licensed under CC BY 2.0.