We wrote this Briefing for MSPs following the publication by Scottish Environment LINK of two reports on the benefits of National Parks.

Two new reports ‘Social and Economic Benefits of National Parks’ and ‘Farming in National Parks’ published by Scottish Environment LINK, provide facts and short case -studies to help inform discussions around National Parks and highlight their wider benefits. This is timely given the public engagement and consultation work now under way to examine the proposal for a new National Park in Galloway.

Drawing evidence from Scotland’s two existing National Parks as well as those in England and Wales and further afield, the new LINK Reports explain some of the work of National Parks and highlight the benefits in some key areas:  

Economic

• National Parks have significant direct and indirect economic benefits to their local communities and beyond. The National Park Authorities (NPA) can have a role in community wealth building – the two existing Scottish NPAs employ approximately 250 staff directly, and also stimulate indirect employment through the ‘multiplier effect’ of sourcing goods and services from businesses based in and around the National Park.  
• NPAs offer a diverse range of roles, many requiring professional qualifications and practical skills and experience, broadening the employment options in rural areas and increasingly supporting the new types of jobs and skills needed to tackle the climate and nature crises.
• National Park status can help the visitor economy, with Scotland’s two National Parks regularly generating over £700 million of economic impact per annum via the visitor economy – more than 30 times the £22 million invested in them by the Scottish Government each year. 
• National Park Authorities are highly effective in leveraging additional external funding (a recent example being Cairngorms 2030, with a £43 Million partnership programme).
• A National Park location can bring added value to a wide range of products, with the designation bringing international-level recognition of the high quality environment. This helps in terms of promotion, marketing and branding of products, ranging from food and drink to arts and crafts, and NPAs can coordinate and assist with this.
• Planning application approval rates are no lower in our National Parks. In 2019-23 the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs NPA approved an average of 94.3% of planning applications and the Cairngorms NPA 94.7%, against a Scottish average of 94.1%.

Visitor Management

• National Parks have resources to improve the visitor experience and manage impacts arising, for instance with directly employed specialist Rangers or improved visitor facilities. Unlike marketing initiatives such as the NC500, a new National Park can invest in, coordinate or instigate sustainable visitor infrastructure and transport as well as improve interpretation, and the LINK report on social and economic benefits gives recent examples of this.
• National Park staff play an active role in ensuring that enjoyment by visitors is achieved in ways that are compatible with land management interests. As well as infrastructure provision, they employ and co-ordinate countryside rangers who engage directly with visitors to encourage responsible behaviour, and help reduce problems.

Health and Wellbeing

• National Parks have wider health and wellbeing benefits. A growing body of evidence shows that connections with nature, and access to and recreation in National Parks, produce significant health and wellbeing benefits. For example, a 2018 study looking at a single National Park found every £1 invested in it produced more than £7 in health and wellbeing benefits for visitors and volunteers.

Farming and Land Management

• Primary industries such as farming and forestry are fundamental to the working landscapes in Scotland’s National Parks and sustainable land use is critical to achieving the aims of National Parks. However, there is no necessity for farmers within a National Park to interact with the NPA unless they wish to, other than over planning applications where the NPA is the planning authority.
• Both Scottish National Parks employ advisors to help land managers, with the help tailored to the specific circumstances of the area and the types of land management involved. This includes support with applying for agri-environment and other funding, for example on diversification, carbon auditing, woodland and hedging,and biodiversity planning.
• Each NPA must by law have a majority of  local representation on its Board, and must develop a partnership plan setting out priorities for how to guide and manage change in the public interest and achieve the four aims of a National Park. Farmers and land managers are regularly represented on NPA governance structures and like other local people can vote in Board elections.
• NPAs own very little land and don’t have regulatory powers over agriculture, except as the local planning authority. Scotland’s national planning policy differs only in two specific ways within National Parks: in the size of agricultural buildings allowed without planning permission (465m² inside National Parks and 1000m² outside) and wind farms, which are not supported in National Parks. The same exceptions also apply in National Scenic Areas.
• The Scottish Government’s rural payments system and land management regime are the same inside National Parks as they are outwith. NPAs are not involved in allocating those payments but do make additional funding available for land managers within National Parks to support projects which both contribute to National Park aims and support viable farm businesses. In recent years, Scottish NPAs have given additional funding via a Climate Adaptation Fund, a Future Farming project and a Nature Restoration Fund.

Further information

SCNP and APRS, have campaigned together for National Parks in Scotland for many years, making the case that Scotland’s beautiful and varied landscapes deserve more recognition and protection. For more information, please contact kat@aprs.scot or 0131 225 7012

Read the reports in full: