National Park
National Parks provide positive management and extra resources to safeguard and enhance the special qualities of these areas for the long term.
National Parks provide positive management and extra resources to safeguard and enhance the special qualities of these areas for the long term.
NatureScot has published its Advice to Ministers on what new National Park(s) could deliver for Scotland and how they could be selected.
To help develop this advice we established a National Park stakeholder advisory group. You can download the papers and confirmed notes. We also ran a stakeholder consultation with the public and a wide range of organisations in late 2022. This included a technical questionnaire and several online workshops with attendance from across Scotland. The advice includes a series of annexes providing background information on the consultation including the stakeholder events and analysis of the survey responses.
The development of this advice is part of the first non-statutory phase of work needed to allow Ministers to initiate the statutory process of National Park designation set out in the National Parks (Scotland) 2000 Act. Further information on this work can be found on the Scottish Government website.
The next opportunity to contribute will be the Scottish Government consultation on the selection process and proposals for legislative change, with a call for nominations expected in the second half of 2023.
For any questions concerning our advice and the work we have done to date, please feel free to contact the National Park Commission team in NatureScot leading on this work.
1931
The Addison Committee propose the Cairngorms area for National Park status.
1945-7
Government Committees, chaired by Sir Douglas Ramsay, reviewed National Parks for Scotland and five prospective Park areas: Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, the Cairngorms, Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount, Wester Ross and Glen Strathfarrar-Glen Affric-Glen Cannich.
1951
The 1949 legislation, which allowed for the establishment of National Parks in England and Wales, did not extend to Scotland but Government designated the five 'Ramsay' areas as National Park Direction Areas, which allowed for some extra scrutiny of development proposals within them.
1953
Cairngorms National Nature Reserve declared.
1958
Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve declared.
1975
The former Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS) identified Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, the Cairngorms and Glen Coe-Ben Nevis as areas needing special management to care for their national importance.
1981
The National Park Direction Area designation was replaced, in part, by the new National Scenic Area designation. Of the 40 NSAs identified by CCS, two separate NSAs were identified for parts of Loch Lomond & the Trossachs and the Cairngorms had two adjacent NSAs – one covering the main Cairngorms massif, the other for upper Deeside and Lochnagar.
1988
Legislation passed in 1981 to create Regional Parks was used to establish a joint local authority-led Loch Lomond Park Authority - but excluding at this stage the Trossachs.
1991
The former Countryside Commission for Scotland, in reviewing Scotland's mountain areas, recommended National Park status for four areas: Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, the Cairngorms, Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount and Wester Ross.
1991
In response to the CCS report, the Government established working parties for Loch Lomond & the Trossachs (chaired by Sir Peter Hutchinson) and the Cairngorms (chaired by Magnus Magnusson) to undertake a detailed review of the needs of the two areas.
1992
The report of the Cairngorms Working Party (Common Sense and Sustainability) recommended an approach based on a partnership of key interests and organisations, and this led to the proposal for the Cairngorms Partnership.
1993
The report of the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs working party (The management of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs) recommended an approach based on enhanced joint local authority working, but for a wider area than covered by Loch Lomond Park Authority, including the Trossachs.
1995
The government responded to both reports. In Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, it favoured the joint committee approach recommended by the ‘Hutchinson’ report, and the local authorities then set up a steering group to consider how matters might be pursued. In the Cairngorms, the Cairngorms Partnership is established.
1997
The new Government declared its intention to legislate for National Parks in Scotland and that Loch Lomond & the Trossachs and the Cairngorms should be Scotland's first Parks. SNH was invited to make proposals for a general model of a National Park appropriate to Scotland's needs, as a basis for legislation by the new Scottish Parliament.
1998
The local authorities of Stirling, West Dunbartonshire and Argyll created the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs Interim Committee, as a basis for working towards a National Park for the area.
1999
The government accepted the general National Parks proposals, developed by SNH after wide-ranging consultation, as the basis for legislation by the new Scottish Parliament and the matter became part of the new Parliament's first legislative programme.
2000
Following a debate in Parliament, the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 passed into law in August, and soon thereafter Government invited SNH to act as a reporter for its proposal to create National Parks for Loch Lomond & The Trossachs and the Cairngorms.
2002
Lomond & The Trossachs National Park was established.
2003
Cairngorms National Park was established.
Read National Parks in Scotland – Advice to Scottish Government in 1999
In 1997, Government announced that National Parks should be established to care for some of Scotland's most special places, and proposed that the first should be in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, followed soon after by the Cairngorms.
The matter of what kind of National Parks Scotland should have was debated during 1998 through a consultation process led by SNH on behalf of Government. SNH's advice to Government in 1999, formed the basis of draft legislation debated by the Scottish Parliament in the early Summer of 2000.
On 5 July 2000 Scotland's Parliament unanimously passed the National Parks (Scotland) Bill and on 9 August 2000 it received Royal Assent. The National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 provides the Parliament with the ability to create National Parks in Scotland in any location deemed to be appropriate.
Key steps in the development of the specific proposals for Loch Lomond and Trossachs and the Cairngorms National Parks, including consultation,
Ministers considered SNH's recommendations regarding Loch Lomond and Trossachs and issued a draft Designation Order for consultation in June 2001. The Designation Order for Loch Lomond and Trossachs was subsequently passed by the Scottish Parliament on 24 April 2002 and the new Park was officially opened on 19 July 2002.
Ministers Considered SNH's recommendations on the Cairngorms and issued a draft Designation Order for consultation in May 2002. The Designation Order for Cairngorms was subsequently passed by the Scottish Parliament in December 2002. The new Park Authority was formally established on 25 March 2003, and becomes fully operational on 1 September 2003
The National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 provides the framework to establish National Parks in Scotland.
The Act includes three conditions that an area proposed for National Park designation must meet:
The designation process set out in the Act includes assessment and consultation by a reporter appointed by Scottish Ministers. The creation of each Park also requires further consultation prior to approval by the Scottish Government.
The Act provides for the establishment of marine or coastal National Parks and provides an order making power to allow for tailoring of the designation order to meet the specific needs of such areas. The Act also provides for full consultation with relevant interests within any part of the National Park area consisting of the sea.
Individuals and organisations may propose a National Park for an area, or be asked by Scottish Ministers to comment on the case for one
Scottish Ministers consider the case for a National Park
Scottish Ministers consider the consultation responses and revise the draft designation order. They also prepare a report of the views expressed during the consultation and how they have or have not been addressed in the revision of the designation order
Individuals and organisations include: public agencies, local authorities, community councils, voluntary bodies and those individuals and organisations who are representative of those who work or carry out business in the area to which the proposal relates.
Rather than appoint a reporter at Step 1, Scottish Ministers may chose to undertake the consultation on the proposal themselves.
The legislation also sets out a similar approach to revising designation orders (for example to amend the boundary to increase the size of the Park area) or withdrawing them.
The Act states that the aims of National Parks are to:
Where these aims conflict, the relevant National Park authority must prioritise the first of these aims.
Each National Park has its own National Park authority responsible for writing a national park partnership plan and working with everyone involved in managing the Park to ensure its implementation.
Each National Park Authority is an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) directly funded by the Scottish Government and reporting to Scottish Ministers. They have powers to further the Park's aims including:
The Act also allows for Park Authorities to have different powers and functions (including development planning and management) depending on the specific planning and management needs of the area.
Each National Park also has a board, made up of:
Boards are limited in size by legislation to: