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Wild Land News no 66, Spring 2006
| Plans For Stronger Landscape Protection | Article |
Alistair Cant reports on a Scottish Executive consultation paper
A paper entitled ' Enhancing our care of Scotland's landscapes', issued by the Scottish Executive, has just been out to consultation. It contains proposals for legislation that would give Scottish Ministers powers to designate, de-designate, or revise the boundaries of any National Scenic Area (NSA). It also proposes a statutory definition of a NSA and criteria for designation. Finally it urges the adoption of management strategies and action plans for individual NSAs.
Whilst the proposed powers focus on an existing designation, it is important that this existing designation be put on a firmer footing than at present. NSAs were proposed by the Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS) in 1974, and 40 NSAs were identified in the 1978 report Scotland's Scenic Heritage. They were formally introduced in a Scottish Office Circular in 1980. This required Local Authorities to have policies to protect NSAs, restricted some permitted development rights, and required consultation with CCS (now SNH) on certain defined developments. The protection given to NSAs was strengthened in 1999 by National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 14.
One example of the protection afforded to NSAs is that permission is required to construct a bulldozed track that rises above 400m in a NSA. Sometimes such permission may be granted too easily, or breaches may have a blind eye turned; however the basic protection is a welcome thing.
The 40 NSAs cover just over 1m hectares, and range in size from St Kilda at 900 hectares to Wester Ross at 145,300 hectares. The list reads like a roll-call of remote and marvellous places.
This Consultation Paper has been a long time coming, as in 1997 Government asked SNH to review the designation, following concern that the designation was not sufficiently effective and that NSAs were perhaps concentrated in the remoter north and west of Scotland.
In 1999 SNH presented its recommendations to Government, following consultation. SNH concluded that the priority for action should be the better care and management of the existing NSAs, to be achieved by management strategies. Finally, about 7 years later, Government has started to act by bringing out this paper, hopefully a precursor to legislation.
The Wild Land Group is happy with almost all the proposals, and we see management strategies as a very useful tool. They need to be followed through, with a national perspective. A pilot Strategy for the Wester Ross NSA at times seem to read like a local enterprise development plan, rather than a method statement for caring for a magnificent piece of wild land. However it certainly stirred up the debate locally.
The one suggestion of contention is that concerning the role of NSAs in National Parks. It is suggested that NSAs may not be needed as they should be under expert care already by the National Park Authority. This is something we are not so trusting about. NSAs focus on scenic value, whilst national parks have 4 founding principles - their natural heritage needs to be considered along with the social and economic remit. The de-designation of a NSA (or of the part within a national park) could lead to a lessening of protection. We feel this is very wrong.
Landscape as a concept, can be fairly elusive to define. However in other respects, it is at the core of Scotland - its heritage, its history, its make-up, its tourism, its business and its psyche. To weaken one of the few (and already weak) designations in this way is fundamentally wrong. We also have great concerns that national park authorities, especially in the Cairngorms, are focusing too much on other issues such as affordable housing, local employment and such like. Whilst these are important, we feel the landscape and the natural heritage should have a primacy when development and conservation are being considered.
We would also like to see a stronger case made for the designation of new NSAs. Many years have passed since the 40 were first proposed. Our experience and expectations of landscape and wildness have changed. We believe there is a need more than ever for wild places - special places - to be given more protection, for their landscape, their scenery. They should not have to rely on protection simply because a four-leaved toad, or twin-bladed fescue (or whatever) resides there!
Whilst the consultation period closed officially on 24 April we are sure this topic will be mulled over for some time, so we urge members to write to the Scottish Executive and to your MSP to ensure that NSAs will not be de-designated in National Parks.