First minister urged to 'shake-up' Loch Lomond national park

Campaigners are worried that the by-laws will damage access rights

Outdoors broadcaster Cameron McNeish has called for a "complete shake-up" of how the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park is managed.

In a column for the Walk Highlands website, Mr McNeish said there had been several "failures in governance" by the park authority.

He has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urging change.

The park's chief executive, Gordon Watson, said Mr McNeish's allegations were "totally unfounded".

The broadcaster's comments focus on plans approved by the authority in April that would ban camping without a permit around many of the lochs in the park.

The proposals have been criticised by some outdoor recreation groups in Scotland, but the park maintains that the measures are necessary to protect the environment from anti-social behaviour. They have also seen widespread support from residents of the park.

The authority wants to establish four "camping management" areas on the busiest loch shores with investment in new official camping facilities, including 300 new camping places.

The plans are currently with Scottish ministers awaiting a final decision.

The national park says the by-laws are necessary to protect the environment

But Mr McNeish, who lives in Newtonmore in the Cairngorm National Park, said government approval of the by-laws would "damage land reform progress and drastically reduce the opportunities for public enjoyment of the outdoors".

He also accused the park authority of "misusing statistics" to bolster its case.

A document outlining these points, signed by Mr McNeish, has been sent to Ms Sturgeon and the Environment Minister, Dr Aileen McLeod.

It has also been signed by former MP and MSP Dennis Canavan, Dave Morris, the former director of Ramblers Scotland, and Nick Kempe - ex-president of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and former board member of Scottish Natural Heritage.

Mr Kempe has made a series of Freedom of Information requests relating to the park's management of issues like the by-laws and the approval of the gold mine at Cononish near Tyndrum.

'Fragile environment'

Mr McNeish wrote in his column: "Our advice to the Scottish government is concise and clear. The camping by-laws issue points to a clear need for effective, co-ordinated government action to help the national park out of the cul-de-sac into which it has driven with the camping by-law proposals.

"The essential first step must be the abandonment of the camping by-law proposals.

"We already have strong legislation in place to deal with the kind of problems the park board wants to solve with by-laws - litter, vandalism, loutish behaviour etc, but the Scottish government also needs to support the park in the development of an adequate camping infrastructure over the next 10 years, even if that means compulsory purchase of suitable locations."

However, the national park has strongly defended its decision to approve the legislation.

"The proposals referred to are based on years of experience of dealing with issues that are destroying the fragile environment that makes the national park such a special and cherished place," Mr Watson said.

"They were developed after many months of discussions at over 70 meetings with a wide range of stakeholders including outdoor recreation groups, and of course our local communities whose lives are blighted by these issues year-in, year-out."

The by-laws would be introduced around many of the lochs in the park if the plans are approved

Mr Watson, who took over as chief executive of the park earlier this year, said the measures would affect just 3.7% of the park and were aimed at "dramatically improving the experience of the national park for everyone".

"We completely refute the allegations in the [Mr McNeish's] blog, which are totally unfounded," he added.

The park's proposals are rooted in a "Five Lochs" study, which originally looked at problems around Loch Venachar, Loch Lubnaig, Loch Earn, Loch Achray and Loch Voil.

The study followed camping and alcohol bans along parts of east Loch Lomond, introduced in 2011. The park says the bans have resulted in more families visiting the area and a reduction in anti-social behaviour.

If the Scottish government approves the park's proposals, wild camping would be banned around almost all of the Trossachs lochs, as well as most of the west shore of Loch Lomond and the northern tip of Loch Long.