This post takes a look at the Scottish Government’s increasing drive to restrict when and how people – including staff working for the NHS on the frontline – can leave their homes for their own mental and physical health and how this fits with our access rights and human rights. Shifting “medical” advice When…
Tag: Scottish Government
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…
In the corona panic, the Scottish Government and our Public Authorities have completely lost all sense of reason. It will have serious human and environmental consequences. What the Coronavirus Health Protection Restriction Scotland Regulations (see here), passed last week by the Scottish Government without any parliamentary scrutiny, actually say is that you cannot leave where…
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…
Ten days ago I, like many others, was prepared to accept that tough measures were needed for a temporary period in order to suppress the COVID 19 to manageable levels. I was concerned, however, that public health was not being given the resources necessary until a vaccine is developed (likely to be another 12 months)…
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…
The announcement yesterday that Highlands and Islands Enterprise is submitting a Planning Application to repair the Funicular (see here), despite still not knowing what this would cost, was predictable. As far back as September of last year, HIE made it clear that their intention was to repair the Funicular. This was evidenced by Audit Scotland’s…
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…
On Monday afternoon news emerged that Blairvadach had been saved – for another year – as a result of the deal the Scottish Government did with the Greens last week to get support for their budget. This deal involved more money being allocated to local authorities and, with that cash in hand, the SNP administration…
Recently, Forest and Land Scotland have been flailing trees on Forest Drive in the Trossachs. Flailing is much cheaper than cutting trees manually but is a very destructive practice. It might be acceptable for clearing scrub from roadside verges, but little else. Its impact on hedges, for example, is disastrous, destroying their structure and ecological…
Yesterday saw the start of the new camping byelaw “season” in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The LLTNPA has kept very quiet about this, there is no news release, but they were taking bookings for 1st March (see here) so they are operating the byelaws again. As I pointed out in December (see…
I do not think there is anyone who will contest the value of Outdoor activity / residential experiences for helping young people to develop in life, education, health and social relationships. High quality Outdoor Education / residential experiences develop young people for life’s challenges, greater understanding of the natural environment, greater social interaction and make…
Until reading the Report of the Deer Working Group (DWG) to the Scottish Government (see here) and (here), I had not realised that the Scottish Government was dishing out public money to landowners to undertake muirburn for red deer. The payments appear to have been introduced by the Scottish Government in 2015 and then, in…
Anyone who wonders why new legislation is needed to regulate deer numbers in Scotland need only study this photograph, taken in Oct 2018, and then read David Lintern’s fine article from 2017 on Walkhighlands “Bare hill of the Hind” (see here). The Walk Highlands article includes a video of a massive herd of red deer…
On 16th December, just before the “dead” holiday period the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park launched a six week consultation on a new Outdoor Recreation Plan (ORP). The consultation closes at 5pm today (see here to respond). Mary Jack, earlier this month, considered the discussion at the Board Meeting prior to the consultation launch,…
The two fine letters speak for themselves. Sadly, there is now widespread misunderstanding about the law on access across Scotland: Camping is one of the activities covered by access rights but but those rights specifically exclude motor vehicles. This slide, appended to the consultation document issued by the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust on Freedom…
Not a week goes seems to go by without some group of business interests claiming they are paying too much tax. Ten days ago the operators of small scale hydro schemes, many of which are quite large, were back at it (see here for example). Not content with the enormous subsidies that they have received…
[Postscript – Good News! An hour or so after this was published the CNPA Planning Committee rejected this Planning Application by two votes! Well done them and what a contrast to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority where Board Members rubber stamp whatever is recommended by officers. What the CNPA now needs to…
In December the LINK hill tracks group revealed that the owner of the Glen Clova estate, Mr Hugh Niven, has appealed to the Scottish Government against the enforcement notice which the Cairngorms National Park Authority issued against the new hill road by the Clova hotel (see here) and (here): “It is deeply frustrating that a…
Last week the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s Board approved their third Annual Update on the camping byelaws for Scottish Ministers (see here item 6). They still describe this as “Your Park” – an insult to the dozens of people, anglers for example, who used to camp freely along the loch shores enjoying…
A month after the Flamingo Land Planning Application was withdrawn on 17th September (see here), I submitted an information request to clarify further the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board’s involvement in the whole process. EIR 2019-022 Response arrived a couple of weeks ago. It provides several insights into the Flamingo Land Planning…
Last week Revive, the coalition for grouse moor reform, issued a new report Untold Suffering about how thousands of animals are killed and trapped on Scotland’s grouse moors. Its one of the scandals of our time that this slaughter takes place even in our National Parks which were set up to protect nature (see here). …
In March 2019 the First Minister of Scotland declared a Global Climate Emergency. The Scottish Government has set a net-zero emissions target for 2045 and to increase the targets for 2030 to 70% and to 90% in 2040. These are ambitious targets which will certainly not be achieved simply by stating them and the Scottish…
In September, the local SNP Councillor for North, West and Central Sutherland, Kirsteen Currie (see here), lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament petitions Committee to create no wild camp zones in Scotland (see here). The petition was prompted by perceived concerns with the impact of camping and campervanning along the North Coast 500 (see…