- Call to vote for candidates who will fight for a National Park
- A big issue where councillors can make all the difference
- Campaigners call on every candidate to state where they stand
A campaign has been launched to encourage voters to seek out and support local election candidates who pledge active support for a Galloway National Park.
During last year’s Scottish Parliament elections the issue achieved major significance in the region and achieved widespread political backing.
Every party in parliament now supports the creation of new National Parks and the Green/SNP administration has promised at least one by the end of its term.
Now the battle is on to make sure it comes to Galloway. Dumfries and Galloway Council’s (DGC) active support could make all the difference.
Rob Lucas, Chair of the Galloway National Park Association (GNPA), said: “This is an issue where candidates can mark themselves out as having a real vision for the future and how to bring sustainable prosperity to Dumfries and Galloway.
“We are urging people to ask candidates whether they will put their backs into making sure the next National Park is in Galloway, and to vote for those that will in May.
“If our council chooses to actively champion this cause it can have a tremendous impact – working with business and the community to convince the Scottish Government that it’s got to be Galloway.”
The GNPA is contacting all the candidates and asking them to state where they stand and pressing DGC to create a National Park Working Party which will work hard to make it happen.
While DGC has backed the idea of a Galloway National Park in the past, now is the moment to ensure it moves to the top of the political agenda.
There is already strong public and business backing for a Galloway National Park as it will bring lasting and widespread benefits by:
- Making the most of our fabulous countryside and coastlines
- Generating sustainable tourism
- Creating business opportunities and jobs
- Providing a marketing brand that will put us on a world stage
- Attracting millions of pounds a year in investment and income
- Combatting climate change and enhancing environmental protection
- Improving health and wellbeing
- Offering opportunities for leisure and outdoor activities
- Encouraging young people to remain or return to the region.
GNPA also believes that Galloway is the best place for Scotland’s next National Park because:
- It has a unique mix of rolling farmland, low hills, wild moors, mountains and coastline – adding real diversity to Scotland’s family of National Parks.
- Unlike some parts of Scotland there is ample opportunity, and need, for an increase in sustainable tourism.
- It offers easy access to wonderful countryside for all ages and abilities, including economically deprived communities across south-west Scotland.
- Extensive public and business support for a Galloway National Park shows that the region is ready and eager to seize the opportunities it would bring.
The scale of regional support shone through when the region took 50.3% of the votes in an online poll by The Scots Magazine. This was more than all the other potential locations – Ben Nevis, Glen Affric, Argyll, Wester Ross, Harris, Borders – combined.
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Note to Editors
- For media information contact: Rob Lucas 07808 775901 or Matthew Shelley on 07786 704299 or at [email protected]
About the National Park proposal
A National Park for Galloway would promote and conserve some of Scotland’s most magnificent landscapes. It would attract visitors and allow a fragile rural economy to rebuild and thrive whilst helping Scotland tackle its biodiversity and climate change challenges.
Creating the park would go a long way to meeting the country’s commitment to protect at least 30% of its land for nature by 2030. The suggested boundaries would extend from Dumfries & Galloway into South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. This area not only meets the criteria set out in the National Parks (Scotland) Act, but our research shows there is widespread enthusiasm for the idea.
Galloway National Park Association has had conversations with almost 2,000 people at over 100 meetings and events across the area. The resounding feedback is that Galloway wants a National Park.
- Our questionnaire showed that 84% of respondents are in favour of a National Park.
- The need for a National Park has increased since we started work – Galloway continues to fall further behind the rest of Scotland in economic terms.
- Galloway’s dispersed rural population presents additional challenges but the long-term security of being a National Park is seen by many communities and businesses as a catalyst for their development.
- COVID continues to have a huge impact on the area: National Park status will help to redress this.
- The 2020 and 2021 holiday seasons showed a clear need for more resources to help manage tourists and ensure a high-quality experience for visitors and locals alike.
- The national and international recognition that a National Park would bring to people to Galloway would help drive a green recovery across many sectors and attract people to live and work in the area.
About GNPA
Galloway National Park Association is a community-based group with trustees from across the region. We started work in 2017 and have over 800 members. Our objects are:
- To promote the protection, conservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural assets of the area for public benefit.
- To promote, undertake and publish research into issues affecting conservation and enjoyment of the natural and cultural heritage of the area and to identify how this may be furthered through the designation of a National Park.
- To advance public education in and understanding of how a National Park could contribute to improving health and wellbeing through the enjoyment, understanding or enhancement of the area’s natural and cultural asset”.
Rob Lucas is the association’s Chair and Sandra McDowall the Vice Chair. Dame Barbara Kelly is the President. The association has been funded by membership and donations, and contributions from Scottish Campaign for National Parks, Dumfries & Galloway Council, South Ayrshire Council and East Ayrshire Council.
Galloway National Park Association is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with OSCR (SC047398) on 9th May 2017