'Respect' plea after national park plan sparks heated debate

Consultation will open next month on whether or not to make Galloway Scotland's third national park

The head of South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) has called for a "respectful" debate over plans for a new national park in Galloway.

The area was recently selected as the preferred site to secure the designation, with formal consultation due to start next month ahead of a final decision.

An opposition campaign has been formed and there have been claims of posters, banners and social media posts being removed, prompting a call to halt the process.

Prof Russel Griggs said the debate had become "passionate but polarised" and urged people not to indulge in "personal attacks".

The Scottish government announced Galloway as the potential location for a new national park in July.

However, the proposal has proved a divisive one with a campaign against the move set up shortly afterwards.

Supporters argue it could have "transformational" benefits but opponents fear increased bureaucracy, rising house prices and an inability to cope with more tourism.

Prof Griggs said that although SOSE had supported submission of the bid it had not yet decided its formal position on whether it was for or against the proposal.

In an open letter on the subject, he urged people to show "understanding" of different views on the subject.

Prof Griggs said it was important everyone had a chance to discuss the proposals "without personal attacks"

"I hope we all want to see a productive and informed debate to help our businesses and communities make their own decisions about what the future of Galloway should be in this context," he said.

"To do that though, we all need to ensure we are clear about the facts surrounding the process."

He said a lot of detail was available on an information hub about the process.

"This is a big decision which requires careful thought, and we are only likely to get the opportunity to make that decision once," he said.

"Therefore, the key point at this stage of the process, and critical for us to understand, is that nothing has been decided."

He said that meant the area was not being asked to duplicate one of the current national parks but rather - if it chose to do so - create its own.

He said no blueprint was prescribed in legislation and it would only have a role in the planning system if that was what people wanted.

"There is therefore plenty of scope to consider what is the right model for this area and its people," he said.

He said SOSE had a role to play in ensuring anyone impacted by the proposal could consider it "sensibly and without pressure" from any one view.

"It is, of course, right that we debate these issues, but people need to choose wisely, informed by accurate information," he added.

"And to allow that debate to happen, I would urge everyone to conduct these discussions in a respectful way, with understanding of other people’s positions and perspectives and without personal attacks."