Better Places Fund
Better Places Fund Round 4 is now closed to applications
- Better Places Fund 4 funded project
- Read about Scotland's visitor management strategy
- Read about last year's Better Places Fund 4 Evaluation Report
The Fund
The Better Places Fund first launched in 2020 to help communities and destinations develop pro-active approaches to visitor management in nature 'hot spot' locations across Scotland. There were three subsequent funding rounds in 2021, 2022 and 2023 that supported implementation of Scotland’s visitor management strategy, providing support for the employment of seasonal rangers and visitor operations posts to engage with the public and help manage visitor numbers, pressures and behaviours. These extra “boots on the ground” made a big difference for visitor experiences and for the many communities and land managers impacted by these pressures.
The Better Places Fund was a temporary fund established to help manage the increase in domestic visitors experienced during and following the Covid-19 pandemic and aimed at helping manage visitor pressures in some of the busiest parts of rural Scotland. The current pressure on budgets means that difficult decisions have had to be made and there are currently no plans for any further funding rounds.