Last week the Scottish Government published their draft Natural Environment Bill. This Bill covers some changes to the legislation around National Parks which we welcome, and have campaigned for over a long period. In this post we look at what these are and explain the changes proposed.
We particularly welcome the proposal to put a duty on other public bodies to facilitate the implementation of the Park Plans. The Park Plan acts as an overarching management plan, setting out how all those with a responsibility in each park, across public, private and voluntary organisations, will co-ordinate their work to address the most important issues in relation to conservation and nature recovery, visitor experience and rural development. We strongly agree that public bodies working within or affecting a National Park should be obliged to actively support and contribute to the implementation of National Park Plans. This will mean that all public bodies, such as local authorities, Forestry and Land Scotland and the enterprise agencies, are pulling in the same direction with regard to the National Parks and thus make them more effective.
The Bill also puts a new duty on other public bodies to have regard to the aims of the National Park when they make decisions. This move is welcome, but we believe that the wording “have regard to” is too weak and should be strengthened, along the lines of the duty related to Park Plans, and as has recently been done in the equivalent legislation in England. We feel public bodies should be expected to further the aims.
We believe that National Parks should be at the centre of efforts to create a sustainable future for rural communities and these changes in the duties on public bodies will help this to happen.
In summary we welcome the following measures in the Bill
- Putting a duty on public bodies in relation to the aims of the National Park (though we believe that to be effective this should be more strongly worded – see above)
- Putting a duty on public bodies to facilitate the implementation of National Park Plans
- Retaining the National Parks (or Sandford) principle*, which now gives more weight to the amended first aim – ’to conserve and enhance the area’s natural and cultural heritage’
- Adding a definition of biodiversity
- Amending the Land Reform Act 2003 to allow a new National Park Authority to be the access authority
*section 9(6), The Sandford principle, means that if in relation to any matter, if it appears to the authority that there is a conflict between the first National Park aim (to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the area), and other National Park aims, the authority must give greater weight to the first aim.
Part 3 of the Bill also proposes minor changes around National Park authorities being access authorities and new arrangements around byelaws. For details see https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/s6/natural-environment-scotland-bill
John Thomson, chair of APRS and acting chair of SCNP said:
“National Parks lead the way in mapping out a more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable future for Scotland’s rural areas. Park plans, prepared in partnership, are the key tool for setting out these shared ambitions. By putting more onus on other public bodies to help deliver Park aims, and specifically the Park plan, the provisions in the Bill will greatly strengthen National Parks’ ability to play this leadership role”.
Kat Jones, Director of APRS said:
“We especially welcome the elements of the bill that put a responsibility on public bodies to ‘have regard’ to the National Park aims in their own policies and decisions. However we believe that there should be a stronger requirement for public bodies operating within our National Parks to support their aims.”
Annex – proposed changes to the National park Aims:
The proposed changes to the National Park Aims are laid out below with the new wording in bold and wording from the 2000 Act that will be deleted crossed out.
1 The National Park Aims
(1) In this Act, references to the National Park aims are to the following aims in
relation to an the area of a National Park
- to conserve and enhance the area’s natural and cultural heritage
of the area, - to promote sustainable management and use of the area’s natural resources
of the area, - to promote public understanding and enjoyment
(including enjoyment in the form of recreation) of thespecial qualities of the area by the public,area’s natural and cultural heritage, and - to promote sustainable economic,
andsocial and cultural development of the area’s communities.
(2) Without limit to the generality of subsection (1), those aims include—
(a) restoring and regenerating biodiversity in the area,
(b) mitigating and adapting to climate change,
(c) supporting access to and within the area,
(d) encouraging recreation in the area,
(e) promoting sustainable tourism and visitor management, and
(f) promoting sustainable development activity which improves the health, wellbeing and prosperity of individuals and communities within the area.
(3) The Scottish Ministers, a National Park authority, a local authority and any
other public body or office-holder must, in exercising functions so far as
affecting a National Park (and only in relation to functions exercisable in or as regards Scotland which do not relate to reserved matters), have regard to the National Park aims set out in subsection (1).
(4) For the purposes of this section, a reference to any other public body or office-holder is a reference to any other—
(a) Scottish public authority, and
(b) so far as not falling within paragraph (a), cross-border public authority (but only in relation to functions exercisable in or as regards Scotland which do not relate to reserved matters).”.
