Farmer union urges agricultural sector to participate in second national park survey
The deadline to complete the survey is January 26.
Last updated 24th Dec 2024
A leading agricultural union is urging farmers and crofters in the region to respond to its survey on Galloway becoming Scotland's next national park.
The NFU says views from members will form its official response to the Nature Scot consultation.
Those for the park say it'll bring huge economic and environmental benefits but that's not the position of the farming union.
Both sides will be meeting after the new year to discuss the proposals more in-depth.
Stewart Wyllie, NFU Scotland’s Dumfries and Galloway Regional Chair says the survey has detailed questions that allow participants to “focus on the sections that matter most to them”.
“It would have been nice to have had more meat on the bone so to speak in terms of information regards a national park. If anything, it’s now more confusing as we are looking at multiple maps and we don’t really know what we’re actually voting for in theory.
“I think it’s vitally important that we hold Nature Scot to account to make sure that the viewpoints and the concerns that have been fed to them are passed back to the Scottish Government because the fear out there is tangible.”
Wyllie, amongst other NFU members, wants to get all viewpoints across as “quickly and eloquently as possible because the last thing we want is for this to become a fait accompli without due consideration of the effects this could have on the farming community.”
Members from Dumfries and Galloway, and Ayrshire can participate in the survey and have until midnight on Sunday 26, January.