Council to discuss National Park

Scottish Borders Council has agreed to consider a proposal for creating a Scottish Borders National Park (SBNP).
Councillor Jim Brown.Councillor Jim Brown.
Councillor Jim Brown.

The move follows discussions by the council’s planning committee on the draft local development plan last month.

There are strong international moves to protect more land for nature and, in Scotland, many people believe the best way to do this would be to create more national parks.

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Currently just eight per cent of Scotland is covered by National Parks and 13 per cent by National Scenic Areas, although there is some overlap between those two and several other designations.

Councillor Watson McAteer.Councillor Watson McAteer.
Councillor Watson McAteer.

SBNP team member Malcolm Dickson said: “National Park designation could help the economy of the whole Borders, not just the area that lies within the final NP boundary.

“The fact that the name would be the Scottish Borders National Park, together with the experience of communities outside existing National Parks across the world, means that the knock-on economic benefits would spill over into the wider local authority area.

“We believe the council has nothing to lose by supporting the NP proposal, but would need to have very good reasons for not taking advantage of a community-originated idea that is gathering momentum across the region.”

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The bid does seem to have cross-party support in the council.

Councillor Neil Richards.Councillor Neil Richards.
Councillor Neil Richards.

Jedburgh SNP councillor Jim Brown said: “I am more than pleased to support the establishment of a National Park within the Borders. While we are still in the early stages and this project remains hugely challenging, it is extremely exciting.

“My interest as a councillor for Jedburgh and District is from a local tourism viewpoint, but the benefit that NP status will undoubtedly bring to shops, cafes and hotels etc throughout the rest of the Borders can not be over-stressed. “

Independent Hawick councillor Watson McAteer said: “With a firm commitment by Scottish Borders Council to properly consider this exciting proposal a real opportunity is being presented to the Borders.

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“The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on everyone, and changed many people’s priorities but the need to build and strengthen our economic base has never been greater.

“A National Park in the Borders presents a unique and ideal opportunity to develop our latent tourist industry for the long-term, providing an economic and social opportunity that must not be missed.’

His fellow Hawick councillor, Conservative Neil Richards, added: “With SBC being involved in two ground-breaking schemes, namely the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency and the Borderlands Growth Deal, some might suggest that the need for a National Park is not a pressing issue.

“However, the landscape has changed: Covid and the response to it has made a NP even more important. Here, in the western part of the Borders, tourism needs the focus of a NP to bolster and stimulate a sector in need of support.”

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However, it’s not an idea which is universally welcomed. When the idea was first mooted in 2016, concerns were voiced by then Conservative councillor, now MSP, Michelle Ballantyne, regarding planning freedom.

She said: “I wouldn’t support it. It would cause way too many problems.

“National parks have all sorts of costs, and there are huge connotations for local councils. There are restrictions on planning and development.

“I don’t think we need it, and I can’t see what benefit it would be. I don’t think becoming a national park is a way to improve the Borders.

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“It’s just not practical or appropriate. If you had it, it wouldn’t be long before you wished you hadn’t.”

Nevertheless, the SBNP team has already initiated, and is coordinating,the 12 Towers of Rule, a heritage project involving the communities of Denholm and Bonchester Bridge, based on a major historical event in the 16th century.

The project team aims to bring to life the impacts on Teviotdale of the turbulent period of the ‘Rough Wooing’ and its aftermath.

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