Question reference: S6W-15916
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 13 March 2023
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Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that any bids that it receives for National Park status cover contiguous or overlapping areas, whether the Scottish Ministers will be able to consider combining those bids into one larger National Park.
Answer
The Scottish Government has committed to designating at least one new National Park in Scotland during this parliamentary session provided relevant legal conditions can be met. In the Spring we will publish a draft evaluation framework with proposed selection criteria before opening the nominations process for new National Parks later this year.
We are aware of several areas which are interested in National Park status, including some which have well established campaigns. Through the nominations process, we will ask interested parties to register their interest and submit a nomination. We intend to make support available to local groups and organisations wishing to submit a nomination, for example to help arrange and host local discussions and workshops.
All proposals for New National Parks that are received will be assessed against the criteria set out in the evaluation framework and a report will be prepared. A panel of experts will then review the evaluation report and will provide advice to Scottish Ministers on which nomination or nominations should be considered for National Park designation. In theory it would be possible for the panel to recommend that overlapping or contiguous areas are considered.