About APRS

Why We Exist

We campaign with communities, on behalf of all landscapes, from the countryside surrounding the places where most people live, to the wilder more remote ones. 

The quality of people’s surroundings is central to their well-being, and the quality of Scotland’s countryside is of fundamental importance even to those who spend most of their time in towns and cities.  We support communities and individuals to look after and make the most of their local landscapes and we believe that Scotland’s countryside has a key role to play in tackling the climate emergency, addressing the nature crisis and supporting rural economies.

Making change

Our approach to change-making is grounded in the belief that communities must be empowered to shape the future of the places where they live. Many of Scotland’s least affluent communities are located on the urban fringe —precisely where damaging development pressures are greatest and access to nature is most at risk. These communities often feel dis-empowered and unheard in decision-making processes that affect their quality of life.

We work to change this. Firstly by advising on how to engage with the planning system as it stands, offering bespoke advice. And secondly by gathering first-hand experience of how the planning system works to campaign for change which, in turn, helps communities’ voices to be heard so they can protect their own local green spaces and biodiversity.

About Our Objectives:

• protect and enhance Scotland’s rural landscapes for future generations
• promote effective planning and landscape protection systems
• encourage genuinely sustainable development
• raise awareness of the importance of Scotland’s landscapes to its people and economy
• promote the activity of land managers who care for Scotland’s landscapes

We do this by:

• working in partnership with communities, grassroots campaigners, other charities, local authority, government and public bodies
• active involvement in national policy development and advocacy
• advising members of the public on how to respond to proposals which affect their local landscapes
• publicising our work to our members and beyond through our website, our newsletter and email bulletins

Our Impact

We are small but flexible and have achieved major national-level impact with minuscule resources including in the areas of Green Belts and planning policy, National Parks and the circular economy. 

A volunteer-led evaluation carried out over a year in 2024/25 found that, with two days of staff time, we responded to around 60 planning enquiries across 18 local authorities, half related to Green Belts. Our online guidance was accessed over 700 times. Key community concerns included greenspace loss (20%), wellbeing (18%), and environmental impacts (18%). Our webinars and events reached 168 people live, with over 200 hours of online views. Attendees reported greater understanding of the planning system, and a 32% increase in confidence to act. We also achieved a major win from a long term project to change how the planning system worked and, as a result, five local campaigns we had been supporting for as long as nine years, won their cases.

Governance Documents

AGM Minutes, Accounts and Annual Reports from previous years are available in our Resources section.