Reasons to

say Yes:

The Scottish Government selected Galloway South and East Ayrshire as the ideal location for Scotland’s third National Park.

A public consultation is underway and we are asking you to take part and give your support.

Here are some reasons why….

Big Investment and

Bringing Back the Buzz

If the Park goes ahead our area could get up to £10 million a year in direct Scottish Government funding – your taxpayers’ money invested in your area.

It’s not often that governments offer big sums to rural areas. If it’s not accepted it vanishes back into the coffers, lost for good.

National Parks are great at generating investment – for every government £1 they generate another £10.

At a time of huge public spending cuts (£30m in Dumfries and Galloway alone) we urgently need more investment.

Too many rural towns, villages, businesses and families are struggling. A National Park can help turn this round and bring back the buzz.

That’s superb for you and your family, ensuring they can live in a region with great prospects, fulfilling careers, better services, more affordable housing, improved health and wellbeing and fantastic recreational activities.

Employment

Wage levels are the lowest of any Scottish rural area and 40% of all children are born into low-income homes. We have severe underemployment.

Parks directly employ rangers, educators, conservationists and other professionals. They also offer apprenticeships and work placements.

But the really big boon comes from inward investment, attracting new businesses, helping existing ones thrive and grow by bringing in more customers for shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes and guest houses.

A project in Cairngorms saw 10 affordable and environmentally friendly houses built, giving affordable homes to locals, work to local contractors and apprenticeships to local young people. That could happen in your town or village.

New opportunities open up for entrepreneurs – often with direct support from the National Parks – for example rural enterprise centres.

And then there are the benefits for young people wanting holiday and weekend work, and parents and others wanting to top up their incomes perhaps working in retail or hospitality.

Housing

House prices are very low but not affordable – the bad state of our economy and poor wages mean that many cannot afford a home.

A stronger economy with more opportunities to earn is essential. So are strategies to build more affordable housing. A National Park helps with both.

The two existing Scottish Parks get more affordable houses built and are more innovative in providing homes than local authorities.

Cairngorms National Park now has a policy in place for 45% of new build homes to be affordable - 20% higher than national levels.

Biodiversity,

Carbon Reduction,

Access

Galloway has fabulous wild places from its hill summits to the seashore, but much has been lost – more is disappearing all the time. National Parks bring people and organisations together and generate the resources for projects in areas such as:

  • Protecting endangered species

  • Habitat restoration

  • Restoring wood and peatlands

  • Education and training

  • Arts and culture

  • Outdoor access and enjoyment.

Our new Park would have wide powers to provide grants particularly where these relate to carbon reduction, biodiversity gain and access.

It could work with SSDA (South of Scotland Destination Alliance) and VisitScotland to promote the area and it can promote the Biosphere and the Dark Skies Park.

Health, Wellbeing

and Recreation

Physical and mental health matter enormously and a Galloway National Park would bring benefits for residents and visitors alike. It would enable people to make the most of its hills, forests, beaches and waters for recreation.

Research shows that National Parks worldwide contribute greatly to health and wellbeing – even cutting national health bills.

The region is great for walking, cycling, golf, bird watching, fishing and many other pursuits. It also offers arts and crafts, artisan food, books and heritage.

A National Park in Galloway would:

  • Mean more access for walkers and cyclists, with better paths and tracks.

  • Bring additional funding for landowners and businesses for new or improved ventures

  • Employ rangers to help the public and landowners

  • Involve local people as volunteers on projects to manage and maintain the special qualities of the area.

Tourism

Our National Parks appeal to just the kind of visitors we would all welcome. In 2023 the top three reasons for visits were:

  • Scenery and landscape: Cairngorms 81%, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs 82% (Scotland 70%).

  • History and culture: Cairngorms 58%, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs 60% (Scotland 48%).

  • Outdoor activities: Cairngorms 40%, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs 34% (Scotland 27%).

Right now the region’s tourism figures leave a lot to be desired and there is a great deal of spare capacity.

A planned and gradual increase in numbers would mean a sustainable and valuable increase – spread throughout the year and around the region.

If the Park can eventually increase tourism by 50% (to around 80% of that in Northumberland Park) it could add 1,500 jobs and £100m a year to our economy.

Long Term

Support

One of the strengths of the bid for National Park status is that it would allow better long-term funding of projects.

We have had a succession of high-quality projects, such as the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership, that begin to show improvements to the area just when their funding ends. National parks offer continuity of funding to communities.

The

Economy

The outlook for our economy is bleak. Current forecasts suggest it will expand by just 1.3% a year in 2024-27 compared to 1.4% for Scotland, and a lower 1% annually over the longer term, compared to 1.3% nationally.

The workforce in Dumfries and Galloway is expected to decline between 2027-34 from 60,200 to 59,700.

To maintain our services, our shops, our schools and everything else we need a larger workforce and sustainable jobs. Some 200+ people of working age a year need to move here for Galloway to remain viable.

National Parks attract investment. That would help lift us up and build a vibrant, sustainable future economy.

A great example is Revere which works with National Parks, land managers, farmers and communities to design nature restoration projects, raise private capital to finance them, and generate revenue by selling ecosystem services.

Climate
Change

Our region faces the same dramatic challenges as everywhere else to reduce carbon emissions and achieve a sustainable environment.  

Just one example of where we could make a real difference is through the protection and improvement of our peatlands, which are brilliant at capturing and holding carbon dioxide.

Likewise, a National Park can play a key role in encouraging forestry that includes lots of different species, with far more native, broadleaf trees.

A National Park could also be vital in promoting public transport – essential for our people, communities and to reduce emissions.

Huge

Potential

With large areas of land and a wide range of soils and species, and with the Crichton Carbon Centre and SRUC on the doorstep, there is enormous potential for our region to be at the forefront of net-zero delivery and nature restoration.

Make your voice heard,

complete the consultation here.