The Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) describes itself (see here) as ‘the UK’s government-backed standard for creating new woodlands that generate high-integrity carbon credits’ and is managed by Scottish Forestry. The WCC is based on a number of key assumptions which are not explicitly stated: the first is that since trees take CO2 out of the…
Tag: Governance
Recently, while researching my post on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) local member elections (see here), I came across this revealing post on Linked In (see here): Having been writing for a number of years about how staff at the LLTNPA control board members (see here for example), I should have…
After my post about how the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) no longer provides emails to board members on grounds of national security (see here) a reader sent me a link (see here) about board members on the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA). The LDNPA, like the CNPA, has a new website but seems to…
Last Friday, the day of the Scottish Parliamentary election count, the appeal by the locally elected member for Balloch, Sid Perrie, against the decision of the Standards Commission for Scotland (SCS) to suspend him from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) for six months for sending six emails (see here) was due…
At the start of this year I was alerted to the construction of the new access road to what was until recently called Conachra farm. The new road, which is west of Croftamie, lies within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and is their responsibility for planning purposes. The farm itself lies within the…
Our National Park Authorities are unique among Scotland non-department public bodies (NDPDs) in that their boards are not wholly appointed by Scottish Ministers but some members are directly elected and others appointed by local authorities. That three-way division of power in theory makes Scotland’s two National Park Authorities accountable not just to the Scottish Government…
On 1st April the BBC reported (see here) that Flamingo Land had decided to appeal Scottish Government’s Ministers decision to turn down their proposed Lomond Banks development in Balloch. They are in fact seeking a judicial review. The difference is important because, as I explained after Scottish Ministers made their announcement (see here), a judicial…
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 requires byelaws to be reviewed every ten years. Currently, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) is secretly preparing a review of the camping bye laws, which prompted the creation of this blog, prior to a public consultation later this year. The review should start with some…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board meeting on Monday (9th March) considered a paper on the Standards Commission for Scotland (SCS) decision to suspend Sid Perrie, the locally elected member of Balloch, for six months for sending six emails (see here). Public bodies which come under the aegis of the…
Earlier this week in my post on how the National Lottery now appears to be picking up a significant proportion of funding for Scotland’s National Parks (see here), I stated that Sandy Bremner, Convener of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) had recently been appointed to the Scottish Committee of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. That…
[This post was updated and corrected 6th March – see post on apologies to Sandy Bremner 6th March] The Scottish Government’s budget for 2026/27 included significant cuts for both the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) and the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) (see here for budget documents). Over the course of two…
I had set aside last Wednesday morning to attend the Standards Commission for Scotland (SCS) hearing into Councillor Fiona Higgins, who like Sid Perrie (see here) the local elected National Park board member for Balloch, has been investigated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner for trying to raise concerns about officials. I was tipped off on…
Last Wednesday, 18th February, the Standards Commission published (see here) their decision to suspend Sid Perrie from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board for six months for sending six emails questioning the Flamingo Land Planning process. The decision document is almost 24 pages long and, from my memory, appears to be…
Last weekend the Sunday Mail ran an article (see here) on the Standards Commission Hearing (see here) which declared Sid Perrie, the locally elected member for Balloch, guilty of bullying for sending six emails raising concerns about conflicts of interest in the handling of the Flamingo Land Planning application. As a consequence the Standards Commission…
This is the first in a series of posts which looks at what forestry grants to large landowners to plant trees has done for native woodland in Scotland based mainly on the evidence I have seen on the ground over the last few years. It provides lessons for our National Parks, not least because of…
Yesterday I went to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) headquarters to hear the Standards Commission judge Sid Perrie while he is off sick with stress as a result of how he has been treated. Sid is the locally elected member for Balloch and had sent six emails trying to challenge the…
This post explains how the Code of Conduct for public life in Scotland, as applied to local authorities and quangos, has developed in the last 20 years and is now being used to do the opposite of what the Nolan ethical principles intended. The Nolan Principles and the Codes of Conduct in Scotland As a…
Last Wednesday I published a short post (see here) informing readers that Dave Morris, Gordon Bulloch and I were giving evidence that morning to the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee (PAC) on the funicular railway at Cairn Gorm. The short notice and whether you were available to watch at the time didn’t matter as anyone…
In 2018 Historic Environment Scotland (HES) closed the Radical Road at the base of Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, citing safety concerns . Many viewed this as a serious restriction on established Scottish access rights (see here). At the time, however, it was difficult to challenge the decision, as it rested on the argument…
In May 2015 (see here) Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Minister then responsible for tourism, opened a new viewing tower, dubbed An Ceann Mor, at Inveruglas on the west shore of Loch Lomond. The tower was the fourth and final structure to be installed in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park as part of the…
My thanks to a reader who, following my post on the board games at the Loch Lomond and Trosssachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) (see here), alerted me to some further shenanigans which I had missed. Seven out of the eighteen board members of the LLTNPA are nominated by local authorities in the area. After a…
On 3rd December Historic Environment Scotland (HES) submitted a planning application (see here) to the City of Edinburgh Council which includes a proposal to erect a new “temporary” barrier across the Radical Road below Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh. The closing date for comments (see here) is Tuesday 13th January. There have apparently been seven comments…
At the end of November the Scottish Government advertised (see here) the position of the five ministerially appointed Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) board members who will retire at the end of October 2026. The timetable for appointments is tight: applications close on 5th January, interviews will be completed by 2nd February…
This is my fourth post looking at how the Ethical Standards Commission has investigated the complaint made by Heather Reid about six emails which Sid Perrie, the locally elected member for Balloch, sent between 26 and 28th August 2024. As I explained in my first post (see here): “After the arrangements for the special board…
A video from July 2024 of the site can be seen here. Readers may be familiar with Stobo (see here and here) perhaps one of Scotland’s most environmentally destructive forestry schemes this century. In February 2024, Scottish Forestry awarded a £2 million taxpayer funded contract to the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, a ‘registered collective investment…