Farming concerns persist over national park bid

Members of the farming industry have raised concerns about plans for a national park in Galloway

Agricultural sector concerns about creating a national park in southern Scotland have been renewed as a deadline for bids approaches.

Farmer James Biggar said he feared securing the designation for Galloway could damage growth and tourism potential.

Campaigners insist that fears over added bureaucracy and development constraints are largely misplaced.

The Scottish government has committed to creating at least one new national park by 2026 with bids to be submitted by the end of February.

At present there are two national parks - Cairngorms, and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs - but the nominations process has now opened to increase that number.

There has been a long-running campaign for Galloway to be one of the areas to secure the status.

Campaigners believe the area is well-suited to be Scotland's next national park

However, Mr Biggar - who farms in the Stewartry area - said he was unconvinced it would offer any real benefit.

"Although I believe Dumfries and Galloway is a wonderful place to live and it has a huge number of fantastic things about it, I can't believe that the creation of a national park will help solve the problems that we do have in the region," he said.

"We are strapped for cash. There are a number of things that require real investment and I think investing in a national park would divert those important funds.

"I think the last thing we need in the area is an additional layer of bureaucracy."

He said that the region had a "lot to sell" to tourists who could bring in "well-needed cash".

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Mr Biggar said the infrastructure in the region currently struggles to cope with the numbers that already come to the area without the designation.

Rob Lucas, who chairs the Galloway National Park Association (GNPA), is preparing to submit its formal bid to the Scottish government.

He said being in a national park makes very little difference to farmers.

"Farming is largely outside of the planning system - apart from very large sheds - but pretty much everything else is outside the planning system," he said.

"The rest of what a national park can ask people to do is very much on a voluntary basis.

"The national park can't tell someone that they have to change what they do on their piece of land."