Most people I know who are working at home are getting more work done there than if they had the distractions of the office. This has also been claimed in the press to be the case. But in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) it appears that during the Covid crisis much of the managerial type office/paperwork has fallen even further behind schedule, been postponed or cancelled. Here I take a look at Outdoor Recreation which should have been given greater priority than ever before.
The replacement for the Outdoor Recreation Plan (ORP) 2013 – 17
The new plan, named “Active Park, Healthy People: Outdoor Recreation Delivery Plan” (revised after ‘Consultation’) was meant to be presented to the NPA Board last year but wasn’t.
For several years now the Outdoor Recreation Plan has been pushed further and further down the line. The sad history, since the last plan ended, is as follows:
Board Meeting 19 June 2017 – No mention of updating ORP
Board Meeting December 2017 – No mention of updating ORP
Board Meeting 12 March 2018 – Agenda Item 5 – Draft Annual Operational Plan – Appendix 1 – Draft 2018/19 Annual Operational Plan provides the first mention of updating ORP I can find, with a target completion date of December 2018:
Board Meeting 14 June 2018 – Agenda Item 12 – Annual Operational Plan Progress Report – Appendix 3, “on track”:
Board Meeting – 10 Dec 2018 – Agenda Item 9 – Annual Operational Plan Report – Appendix 1 suggested the “refresh” had been drafted but it was not presented to the meeting:
Board Meeting – 18 March 2019 Agenda Item 13 – Annual Operational Plan Progress Report:
Board Meeting – 17 June 2019 Annual Operational Plan 2019-20 – Agenda Item 10.2, reports ORP to be presented to Board by June, but it was not on the agenda:
Board Meeting 29 Oct 2019 – No mention ORP
Board Meeting 9 Dec 2019 – Agenda Item 5 covered consultation on the ORP:
Board Meeting 16 March 2020 – Agenda Item 14 “ORP Update Paper”:
Board Meeting 15th June 2020, Agenda Item 7 “Operational Plan Re-prioritisation”:
Board Meeting 14th September 2020, Agenda Item 6:
This Board Meeting also considered the final Report on the Annual Operational Plan 2019/20 which stated:
That takes us to the December 2020 meeting, just three months later, where it was reported that the ORP had been postponed to June 2021, i.e. 2021/22!
Meantime the recreational soundbites and failures continue
Gordon Watson the Chief Executive of the LLTNPA was quoted in the Helensburgh Advertiser (Jan 14 2021) :-
The evidence from Loch Lubnaig and Rowardennan (see here) shows otherwise.
The claims of Forest and land Scotland (FLS), who were also reported in the Helensburgh Advertiser Jan 14 2021, are more credible:
While access rights have never been suspended at any time during the Covid crisis at least FLS does not appear to be putting barriers in the way of enjoying the countryside, unlike the LLTNPA with its locked toilets and car parks.
Meanwhile elsewhere spanners are being thrown in the works to prevent folks enjoying the great outdoors:
Readers may recall (see here) the hike of car park charges in the aforementioned carpark by Argyll & Bute Council from £1 to £9!! Incredibly, given these car parks are for sale:
If that doesn’t demonstrate the need for a properly thought out and resourced Outdoor Recreation Plan I am not sure what does!
Not only has the ‘fear’ of Covid been so hugely overstated in terms of folk ‘exercising’ outdoors but the fear has also been driven home by the ‘stay at home’ message backed by stern reports with sensational headlines warning folk of harsh penalties ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55721447 ). Many have simply read the headlines, seen their Twitter feed and listened to folk with their views on travel…and that’s before we take into account that ‘recreation’ is not recognised by the Scottish Government as a reason for being outside.
Sure, you can go for purposeful ‘exercise’ but recreation has never been listed as a reason. Here’s the actual quote: ‘outdoor informal exercise’ – from 9 https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/ ) Even England’s guidance includes the word recreation but not in the austere Scottish world of uber-social control!
But then none of this should surprise us as long before Covid, the very idea of writing ‘play’ & ‘recreation’ into curriculum plans was frowned on and eventually only pre-school documents used the word ‘play’ in developmental terms.
Putting the word ‘recreation’ into Outdoor Learning documents is still often met with serious debate from schools’ managers who need to be able to Monitor and Track every aspect of learning and so being taught and given the sheer pleasure of recreation as part of our schools’ learning programmes is still seen, especially in Scotland, as not the job of schools!
My points here link n the idea that Scottish culture is still entrenched in the idea of learning and exercise as part of a strong purpose but recreation is too airy-fairy for some…it’s also why so many organisations have such difficulty battling with authorities who seem intent on denying wholesale recreation as a valid, necessary aspect of life (cf: the urbanisation of Loch Lomond by the very authority who supposedly look after it!)
Mind you some see recreation as the opportunity to eat tons of food and then dispose of the packaging by tipping them senselessly in every nook and cranny in the outdoor world.
Hi Andy, I agree there is a downer by elements of the outdoor establishment in Scotland on recreation – the idea of people enjoying themselves – and that is reflected in the SG guidance which you quote which I see still fails to mention Outdoor recreation as a reasonable excuse for going out. That, however, is not what the law now says, it was amended on 4th of January to make outdoor recreation one of the reasonable excuses for going out within five miles of your local authority boundary. That the guidance has not been amended to reflect the law is shocking and provides evidence of the attitudes you refer to.
Hi Andrew. Thank you for your response. The main thrust of this post is the failure of the LLTNPA to yet again fail to meet their own targets and objectives. This ‘refreshed’ Outdoor Recreation Plan (ORP or ORDP as it is now) has been claimed to be ‘On Track’ in Board Papers Annual Operational Plan Progress Reports since June 2018!! Why then has it not materialised? Could it be that after ‘Consultation’ it was found, like the Trees and Woodland Strategy, not to be a Plan at all and requires to be completely rewritten? The ORP 2013-17 actually WAS a detailed Plan but much of it was never fulfilled.
As for ‘play’ and recreation; some Local Authorities DO (and I talk from experience) put a value on play. I know that this is actively promoted not only in P1-3 but throughout the Primary, and has been in various forms over the years eg. Structured Play. LA’s also have Active Schools which is a Scot. Gov. promotion. Then there is the ‘Forest Schools’ initiative. As you say the debate re what is Outdoor Learning as opposed to Learning Outdoors is ongoing. Meanwhile LLTNPA are encouraging folks to go outdoors despite Gov. travel restrictions. See ‘Things to Do – Be Inspired’ – ‘So ditch the blanket, grab the camera and head outside.’ One suggestion is ……. Ben Lomond!! How many folks live within 5 miles of that??