Having argued last week (see here) that the Scottish Government could lift the shutdown of self-catering accommodation and its advice not to travel further than 5 miles, its announcement on Wednesday (see here) that this would now happen on 3rd July was a step in the right direction. Neither restriction has been necessary for weeks…
Tag: LLTNPA
Two weekends ago Police Scotland charged the same number of people for breaching the camping byelaws in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park than had been charged over the whole of the previous three years. Stirling Council’s response to people traveling into the National Park after the first phase of lifting of lockdown was…
Back in February I blogged about the Hunter Foundation’s proposals to develop a “Global Leadership Centre” on the shore of Loch Lomond near Ross Priory in partnership with Strathclyde University (see here). A Planning Application was submitted at the beginning of March (see here for planning papers) and has been slowly progressed during the Covid-19…
Toilets, or rather the risk of Covid-19 being transmitted in toilets, appear to be a major factor why the Scottish Government’s advice to people has been to stay local (see here): “Because of the high chance of the virus living on hard surfaces, we don’t want people using public toilets or going into someone’s home…
On Saturday, I once again ignored Scottish Government guidance and drove 50 miles south from Glasgow to go walking in the Lowther Hills. I was doing nothing illegal and, unlike on Durisdeer last week (see here) where we saw two people, this time we saw nobody at all. These hills could have had a thousand…
In late 2018 the RSPB submitted a planning application to construct a new footpath at Ward’s Farm, part of the National Nature Reserve (NNR) at the south east corner of Loch Lomond (see here for the planning papers that remain public). Over 18 months later, on 25th May, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park…
When I heard that the First Minister was going to permit golf courses to open last weekend, without also opening up the rest of the countryside at the same time, I thought she had taken leave of her senses. Or had received some extremely bad advice. Surely it was absolutely obvious that this would create…
What do we, the public, have to look forward to when our Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park eventually re-opens? Excerpts from Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park (LLTNPA) ‘NEWS’ “Following a successful bid to Visit Scotland’s Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority is investing £135,000 to upgrade visitor…
On Saturday, my partner and I drove 50 miles from Glasgow to go walking in the hills east of Durisdeer, off the A702 south of Abington. The decision to ignore the Scottish Government’s guidance to stay local and to go south was quite deliberate. I knew there would be far fewer people in the countryside…
Yesterday the Scottish Government formally announced its proposals for Phase 1 of its Route Map out of the Covid-19 lockdown. The proposals involve relaxing controls over activities that take place in the outdoors so long as people stay apart: working outdoors, meeting people outdoors and outdoor recreation. While parts of the guidance are excellent and…
The news that the Specialist Leisure Group (see here) and (here), the holding company for Shearings, has gone into administration should be a wake up call about the impact the Covid-19 lockdown is having on the economy of our National Parks and rural areas more generally. 2,500 jobs are likely to be lost, of which…
This story, which appeared in the Guardian last Saturday, appears to have been placed by Police Scotland. It was headed by the quote – cut off in extract above – on the left. The article fails to answer the obvious question, why are the police saying “This is not the time to visit our areas…
[NB information at end of post updated 15th May] A number of developers across Scotland appear to have taken advantage of the Covid-19 lockdown to undertake work without appropriate permissions. An example of this is at Ben Cruach House, in Tarbet, which appears to be owned by multi-millionaire, David Moulsdale, and which was included in…
Scottish Government changes to planning processes The Scottish Government has been urging all planning authorities, including our National Parks, to maintain their planning system as a top priority. Planning Authorities are being urged to use all of their discretionary powers backed up by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 to keep the planning system going (see…
On Monday (20th April) the Scottish Parliament met, sitting two metres apart. The session started with the Presiding Officer asked MSPs to take particular care to maintain that distance when arriving and leaving at the Chamber. That same day the First Minister announced a crackdown on workplaces that had been allowed to remain open but…
Because perceptions about the risks of Covid-19 vary widely across the population, I think its important to be clear about my own starting point. I write this as someone who is not scared of catching COVID-19, as the risk to fit 60 year olds is very low, but has no wish to do so, or…
This letter from David Fallows about the need for the Cairngorms National Park Authority to webcast Board Meetings speaks for itself. It’s something I have been calling for for both our National Parks ever since the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority unlawfully held 13 Board Meetings in secret to decide their camping byelaws. …
The corona crisis – the lessons of foot and mouth and a beacon of hope in the countryside “lockdown”
[NB this post has been updated. I have been informed that the LLTNPA has not closed the gates to all its carparks but instead police tape has in some cases been placed across them] The Foot and Mouth Crisis We have been here before, although the corona crisis is far more serious. I well…
I will come to National Parks later, but Dr Catherine Calderwood is no fool. She didn’t get to become to be Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer by not have a clue about how viruses work. Her drive to Fife, her stay overnight in her second home and subsequent resignation tell us, I believe, four things: First…
Last week, without anyone noticing, the Scottish Government followed the UK Government and used the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations to remove our right to protest. What the regulation means is that if health and social care staff or other workers walk out of their workplace to protest against the lack of personal protective…
I was pleased to have this letter published in the Herald today. Its got nothing to do with National Parks but everything to do with what’s happening in them, as this post will explain. Until our governments set up contact tracing and testing like South Korea and China have done, there will be no end…
The corona crisis has swept all before it. What seemed rational just a few days ago is now deemed unacceptable, whether that was the advice issued our by our recreational organisations (see here), the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority holding a truncated Board Meeting last Monday (see here) or the measures put in…
I was pleased to have this letter published in the Herald last week following a post last year asking why grazing had been allowed to continue on the slopes (see here). The proposed Woodland creation scheme for the Rest and Be Thankful 2019-29 on the slopes of Beinn Luibhean is still open for consultation (see…
I am pleased to publish below, with their permission, the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs’ response to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park’s Authority draft outdoor recreation plan (see here). It should be required reading for every LLTNPA Board Member before they consider the update report on the draft Outdoor Recreation Plan on Monday (see…
Forest Drive has miraculously re-opened after my post last week (see here) which revealed that the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority had only opened 192 out of the 300 plus camping places it had promised to Scottish Ministers for the start of the camping byelaw season. In permit area Q, for example (see…