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To build a more sustainable future for the National Park, we need to work in partnership to focus our collective resources and efforts on the tasks and initiatives that will have the greatest impact over the coming years.
For each of the three key themes set out in our Draft National Park Partnership Plan 2024-29, we have suggested a series of aims by 2045, proposed objectives to be achieved by 2030, and actions needed as a critical early steps towards achieving these aims. We have also suggested a number of people and organisations who have a key roles to play in these areas and potential benchmarks we can use to measure our progress towards our objectives.
Delivery partners should use this survey to let us know how you think we can work together to make this future happen.
Click 'Next' below to work through this survey or use these links to comment on specific areas:
- Restoring Nature
- Creating a Sustainable, Low-Carbon Destination
- Enabling a Greener Economy and Sustainable Living
If you're not sure you can play a role in these areas, take our Quick Survey instead to share your stories or experiences in the National Park and what you think should change to help build a more sustainable future.
If you have any issues submitting your answers using this form, you can send them to us via email at nationalparkplan@lochlomond-trossachs.org
Restoring Nature
Aims & Objectives
Aim by 2045
Our ecosystems are in good health and helping us to adapt to and mitigate against the climate crisis, supporting the National Park to be an overall net carbon sink for Scotland.
Objectives by 2030
Objective by 2030 | Actions |
|---|---|
Peatland To significantly reduce the area of degraded, high emission peatland and convert this into regenerating carbon capture condition instead. | 1) Scaling up of the Peatland ACTION programme, with support from private finance and carbon markets, to repair more degraded peatland areas, reducing emissions and switching them into carbon capture mode. 2) Reduction in damage to fragile peatland surfaces from wild deer and livestock trampling through better informed management. |
Trees To increase the number, species diversity and health of trees across suitable areas of the National Park. | Encourage and support more projects and proposals that deliver healthy and diverse tree and shrub habitats in suitable landscapes in the National Park. Including productive forests, native woodlands, hedgerows and scrub, this will be delivered through better informed management of grazing animals and invasive Rhododendron at a strategic, landscape scale allowing successful natural regeneration as well as planting schemes. |
Water To increase the quality, naturalness and health of freshwater and marine bodies in the National Park, allowing them to provide greater resilience to the impacts of climate change and be nature-rich environments. | 1) Engage with public and stakeholder organisations, and land managers to trial and pilot restoration projects on water bodies through channel re-alignment, removal of legacy engineering structures, woody dam installation, pond creation and water margin woodland creation. 2) Targeted action on wetland Designated Sites in unfavourable condition. 3) Review of abstraction, impoundment and discharge permits to promote nature recovery. 4) Support the return of the beaver to the Park’s freshwater bodies. 5) Engage with strategic, regional initiatives that aim to tackle marine litter and pollution for the Clyde area. |
Aim by 2045
The ongoing decline in nature in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park will be reversed by 2030 and there will be widespread restoration and recovery of nature by 2040. A landscape scale Nature Network approach will be taken improving and connecting core areas and expanding the links between these core areas across the National Park.
Objectives by 2030
Objective by 2030 | Actions |
|---|---|
Restore Nature at a Landscape Scale Expand and improve priority habitats and enhance connectivity between habitats and eco-systems across the National Park to create functioning nature networks. | 1) Expand, connect and strengthen at a large-scale, the major habitat networks of trees, peatlands and wetlands. 2) Develop and deliver large-scale nature restoration projects and programmes and improve connectivity to create nature networks for the National Park. Priority areas include Wild Strathfillan, The Great Trossachs Forest and Loch Lomond Basin. 3) Tackle Invasive Non-Native Species at a strategic, large-scale, with the aim of reducing them to a point that they no longer create a threat to native ecosystems. 4) Increase the use of effective and focused legislative actions on compliance, and if necessary, enforcement to prevent deliberate mismanagement or neglect that leads to an erosion of nature. |
Land Managed Primarily for Nature Restoration Increase the amount of land in the National Park managed primarily to restore nature | Develop a collaborative approach to nature restoration as a prime purpose on land owned or managed by public bodies, environmental charitable bodies, willing private land managers and for all Designated Sites. Create a Nature Restoration Land Forum that coordinates and supports this approach across the National Park and contributes to the implementation of Scotland’s 30x30 commitment. Develop and deliver opportunities for nature restoration projects on other important habitats and species, such as upland heaths, flood meadows or parklands. |
Reduce Grazing Animal Pressures Reduce grazing, browsing and trampling pressures in order to promote recovery of key habitats and sites. | By developing a Herbivore Strategy and through proactive management measures; drive forward a significant reduction in unwanted impacts from grazing animals across the National Park that lead to active recovery of trees, peatlands and wetland habitats. |
Improved Monitoring of Changes in Nature Develop improved monitoring and reporting to measure progress in nature restoration. | Create a State of Nature monitoring and reporting system for the National Park that provides accurate data and knowledge on the condition of nature, and where action needs to be strategically focused. |
Aim by 2045
The National Park is an exemplar of a new form of best practice land use and management, where climate action, nature restoration, local produce and green jobs bring benefits for all.
Objectives by 2030
Objective by 2030 | Actions |
|---|---|
Land Use Change To transform land use within the National Park over time, to ensure that it delivers much more for climate and nature, as well as local food and high-quality jobs. | 1) Facilitate a Regional Land Use Partnership and prepare a Park-wide Land Use Framework setting out collaborative land use change objectives and priorities across multiple land holdings at a landscape scale. 2) Promote the integration of land use and development priorities and opportunities within emerging area-based strategies prepared through the new Local Development Plan. 3) Facilitate strategic, joined-up planning for larger land holdings (or multiple neighbouring holdings), incorporating the business and investment opportunities coming from climate and nature restoration land use changes. 4) Encourage and support land managers to shift more suitable land towards low carbon and regenerative agriculture as a primary purpose. |
New Funding Streams To develop funding support opportunities that help deliver wider public benefits from our land, including for climate and nature. | 1) Engage in national level land reform policy discussions to advocate for a shift in land use policy support and regulation schemes. Aim to deliver a change in the way that land and water is managed, towards a new, integrated system that does not continue to deplete nature and instead restores it as well as support production and jobs. 2) Encourage, develop and pilot new funding streams and projects, such as private ethical green finance and new investment markets (e.g. carbon credits and biodiversity credits) that bring new, multi-year funding to allow delivery of land-use based climate and nature restoration benefits across the Park. |
Engaging Communities in Land Use Decisions To engage communities and other stakeholders more effectively in land use change decisions. | Support and enable communities to engage with land managers and influence land use decisions affecting their futures and discuss what opportunities there might be to benefit all parties. |
| Green Jobs, Skills and Business Opportunities To support change in the land management sector to better meet and benefit from the opportunities from changing land use priorities. | 1) Develop and deliver training and further education opportunities that meet the anticipated demand from scaling up climate and nature restoration projects as well as and regenerative agriculture and sustainable forestry. Help local communities and land managers to turn these into employment and volunteering opportunities through training and re-training. 2) Create longer-term confidence for land management contractors and service providers by scaling and packaging up projects more strategically and over multiple years. |
How do we measure success?
Proposed measures of success:
- Net Zero: Measure the greenhouse gas footprint of the National Park every 5 years against the baseline year of 2019. Reach net zero GHG emissions by 2040.
- State of Nature: Baseline assessment to be completed in 2023, measure every 5 years thereafter.
- Peatland restoration: Track the extent and condition of the National Park’s peatland. Increase the average annual rate of restoration projects from the current average of 240/ha to 640/ha. Achieve approximately 8,000ha of restoration by 2030.
- Trees: Track the extent and condition of the National Park’s woodland/forest/tree cover. Increase the average annual rate of woodland creation from the current average of 200ha year to 400ha.
- Grazing Impacts: Complete Habitat Impact Assessments for every Deer Management Group every 2 years.
- Water quality: Track the ecological status of target waterbodies at key restoration sites (and a ‘control group’ of waterbodies for comparison).
- Invasive Non-native Species: Track the extent and distribution of target Invasive Non-native Species. See a demonstrable, ongoing decline that is consistent with halting the decline of nature by 2030.
- Agreements: Track the amount of land in the National Park under new climate and nature-related agreements and funding
It also will be important to track things like the amount of new funding streams to deliver for climate and regenerative agriculture, the new skills opportunities developed, and any new Land Use policies and processes that deliver more holistic land use change. Effective measurements for these will need to be discussed and agreed.
Policies for Restoring Nature
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park will be a net zero place by 2040 and will continue to work towards being carbon negative beyond that. A key focus to achieve this will be to significantly increase efforts to naturally absorb carbon in the landscape through a nature-based approach.
This will include:
- Restoring significant areas of peatland and protecting this precious resource by repairing degraded peat soils and ensuring impacts from grazing animals are minimal.
- Increasing the quantity and quality of tree cover through planting and promoting natural regeneration by significantly reducing grazing animal pressure.
- Ensuring that efforts to sequester carbon also help restore nature and contribute to establishing new nature networks.
- Working with land managers and communities to secure new sources of funding that provides new opportunities and help support a just transition to a net zero and nature positive National Park.
The ongoing decline in nature in Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park will be reversed by 2030 and there will be widespread restoration and recovery of nature by 2040. A landscape scale Nature Network approach will be taken, improving and connecting core areas and expanding the links between these core areas across the National Park.
This will be achieved by:
- Ensuring that peatland restoration programmes are expanded to deliver multiple benefits including carbon sequestration, improved biodiversity and water storage.
- Expanding our connected network of trees with an increased proportion of native tree and shrub species and improving their quality through proactive management, including management of invasive Rhododendron.
- Strategic landscape-scale management to significantly reduce unsustainable deer and sheep grazing and browsing pressures and to allow the recovery and expansion of tree cover and reduce trampling of fragile peat soils.
- Taking a strategic approach to controlling Invasive Non-Native Species at a landscape scale.
- Improving the freshwater and marine environments by restoring rivers and wetlands and increasing water quality by addressing diffuse pollution, sewage discharge and fertiliser run-off from land uses.
- Improving the condition of existing Designated Sites and delivering actions that protect, expand and reconnect the special species and habitats found there.
- Fully adopting and delivering the principles of the National Planning Framework 4 and ensuring that new development in the National Park takes a net gain approach to protecting and restoring nature on and around development sites.
We will connect and embed our Natural Networks across all land uses in the National Park by supporting positive land use change and more climate and regenerative land management practices.
This will be achieved by:
- Piloting a Regional Land Use Partnership and from it delivering a Regional Land Use Framework to promote a collaborative approach to positive land use change delivering multiple benefits.
- Ensuring planning policies support rural development which helps sustain land businesses, employment needs and local communities.
- Working with national partners to secure more effective use of grants and subsidies which are tailored to support better outcomes for nature. This includes:
- Agriculture – delivering sustainable and regenerative agriculture to continue to support livelihoods, rural communities and food production whilst delivering restoration of our soils, expansion of tree cover and reduced grazing animal pressures on habitats.
- Forestry – delivering timber production whilst expanding and improving a resilient and sustainable forest network.
- Tenabling the creation of new nature-based green jobs and skills by mapping out capacity and skills shortages and supporting opportunities to grow employment and knowledge.
- Developing and piloting new funding models which can blend public and private finance to support multi-year large-scale nature restoration projects.
To achieve ambitious nature restoration and climate targets it is recognised that this cannot be achieved through public funding alone. Ways to secure private green investment to achieve targets will be piloted and developed in collaboration with the Scottish Government and other UK protected landscapes. To ensure such finance is genuinely reducing overall carbon emissions, supporting nature restoration targets and benefiting the wider rural economy, we will only facilitate private investment which:
- Takes an integrated approach in supporting environmental, social and economic benefits and which responds to local needs and opportunities.
- Provides benefits across public, private and community interests and supports a just transition to a greener economy.
- Has included local engagement to inform land use decisions where possible by consulting on a land management plan.
- Is from organisations that have made a public commitment to reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, with clear demonstrable activities to reduce emissions and signed up to a credible initiative to deliver on this commitment.
- Is not finance derived from income associated with environmental damage, the extraction of fossil fuels or any unethical practices.
Who needs to be involved in Restoring Nature?
A multi-agency response is required on restoring nature, under pinned by agricultural and land use reform.
Creating a Sustainable, Low-Carbon Destination
Aims & Objectives
Aim by 2045
The National Park is a place where people of all backgrounds benefit from experiencing nature.
Objectives by 2030
| Objectives by 2030 | Actions |
Sustainable Visitor Economy. The National Park visitor economy is transitioning to offer more low emission, nature-connected tourism opportunities. | 1) Review existing nature-based tourism offerings and identify opportunities with our Destination Group of tourism businesses to support growth in delivery. 2) Work with national agencies and organisations to develop practical toolkits and other approaches to help tourism businesses maximise the market opportunities in low carbon tourism. |
Inspiring Action for Nature and Climate Outreach and outdoor learning programmes are focused on building understanding of the challenges facing our planet, inspiring action for nature and climate and promoting the wellbeing benefits of enjoying the outdoors. | 1) Develop guiding principles for our work in nature connection and an outreach/outdoor learning programme to promote climate and nature conscious behaviours. 2) Review and realign National Park Authority educational and outreach resources and programme with Future Nature priorities and key messages. 3) Develop and deliver National Park local schools ‘Nature Network’ project. 4) Bring together National Park education and volunteering providers to build consensus on objectives and better align delivery to address nature and climate priorities. 5) Continue to support the Walk in the Park programme of wellbeing walks. |
Diversity and Inclusion Volunteering opportunities across the National Park have been expanded to enable wider opportunities for people from outside the Park to actively participate in nature restoration and climate action, use and develop skills and support our Ranger Service to engage with our visitors and communities. | 1) Continue to develop the role and membership of the National Park Youth Committee in providing a youth voice, ensuring the priorities of young people are reflected in policies and decisions. 2) Engage and support the growing sector of charities and voluntary organisations who work with a wide range of ethnic communities to enable more access to the National Park. 3) Develop communication approaches to ensure all opportunities to access or become involved in the work of the National Park are reaching underrepresented groups. 4) Refresh the National Park volunteering programme to rebuild volunteer numbers following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to expand the diversity and including for young people. |
Aim by 2045
1) People have a high-quality experience visiting the National Park and are able to use great services, facilities and routes with less impact on nature or contributing to climate change. Communities see fewer impacts of tourism on everyday life. Nature is recovering more rapidly in less visited areas, where priority has been given to non-motorised access and recreation activity.
2) Enjoyment of the most popular places and routes in the National Park is underpinned by holistically managed and resourced services delivery efficiencies and improvements for public service delivery. Ranger presence will help reduce footprint of visitors on climate and nature and promote responsible behaviours.
Objectives by 2030
| Objectives by 2030 | Actions |
Multi-year Place Programme A multi-year place programme approach has delivered an initial phase of co-ordinated improvements. | 1) Complete Strategic Tourism Infrastructure Development Studies, engaging with local communities, partners and stakeholders. 2) Deliver a multi-year Place Programme co-ordinating investment by partners public bodies on priority visitor infrastructure projects that support:
3) Promote investment in digital and sensor technologies to improve visitor data gathering that informs responsive visitor services and real time information. 4) Ensure investment in visitor sites also enables the development of a growing and reliable EV charging network. |
Visitor Hubs Ensuring investment in visitor hubs at, or linking to, Balloch, Callander and Arrochar/Tarbet will enable more sustainable ways to travel both to and within the National Park including links to improved active travel networks. | 1) Develop better designed place connectivity between rail, bus and water transport services at Balloch which also promotes and enables active travel opportunities. 2) Work with destination businesses and public bodies at Arrochar and Tarbet to maximise connectivity between road, rail, active travel and water access. 3) Develop a location in Callander to be the hub for sustainable travel into the wider Trossachs area. |
Recreational Path Network Investment in the National Park’s recreational path network will focus on keeping the existing network and statutory core paths in good condition and developing more sustainable models to resource path maintenance. | 1) Develop model for the sustainable management and promotion of the West Highland Way. 2) Develop a maintenance programme for the most heavily used stretches of the core path network, informed by a path condition monitoring framework supported by volunteers. |
W ater R ecreation Investment in maintaining and where appropriate expanding facilities for enjoying water recreation and the safe enjoyment of busier l ochs. | Invest in existing pier and pontoon infrastructure on Loch Lomond to enable leisure journeys and growing water transport services. |
Partnership Approach to Visitor Management To ensure a strong partnership approach to co-ordinating all public bodies with a role in supporting the safe and responsible enjoyment of the National Park. | 1) Jointly plan visitor management with partners to ensure a co-ordinated approach to staff presence on the ground, litter management, visitor information campaigns and operation of publicly managed visitor facilities. 2) Further develop the volunteer ranger programme to support and supplement the work of the professional Ranger service and engage with our visitors. |
Byelaws National Park Camping and Loch Lomond Byelaws will be kept under review and amended as necessary where a regulatory response is needed to address issues of concern arising from changing recreational demand and behaviours | 1) If approved by Scottish Ministers, implement changes to the Loch Lomond Byelaws to ensure safe recreational experiences at busy locations, reducing conflicts between power and non-powered activities. 2) Review the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs Camping Management Byelaws to continue to provide a high quality camping experience in the Camping Management Zones. |
Promoting Visitor Safety A co-ordinated approach will be taken across responsible bodies to ensure the safe enjoyment of publicly managed and other popular visitor sites. | Take a consistent approach to the provision of signage, public rescue equipment, and visitor information campaigns across all responsible public bodies to raise awareness of public safety issues and potential hazards in the outdoors, particularly in relation to water safety. |
Aim by 2045
The National Park has a thriving rural transport sector providing services which have reduced the number of car journeys and transport generated emissions, met the travel needs of both visitors and residents and provided more inclusive access to the outdoors.
Objectives by 2030
| Objectives by 2030 | Actions |
Whole System Approach A ‘whole system approach’ has been taken and a range of new public transport services are provided which are targeted at popular outdoor leisure journeys, reducing transport emissions and promoting inclusion. | 1) Develop a governance model in collaboration with responsible transport authorities and agencies which enables a National Park wide approach to rural transport planning. 2) Develop new targeted seasonal transport services that provide a viable and attractive alternative to the private car to access popular National Park destinations. 3) Gather data which demonstrates the latent demand for rural travel to inform service planning. 4) Develop and deliver an active travel strategy that links up services and infrastructure as key parts of an integrated, connected multi-modal transport experience of the National Park. |
Incentivising Sustainable Travel Choices Sustainable travel choices have been incentivised and enhanced though responsible public bodies collaborating on the operation and pricing of transport services, travel hubs and parking facilities. | 1) Develop a strategic approach to setting pricing levels for travel and parking which will incentivise and support low carbon travel choices where alternative transport services are in place. 2) Develop a network focused on mass transit corridors and journey demand including journeys to the National Park from nearby urban areas. 3) Work with operators to develop an improved, integrated and affordable Waterbus service network on Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine. |
Developing a Rural Transport Sector Business and transport providers have collaborated to develop the sector and create commercial opportunities to meet sustainable travel demands. | Work with transport providers to address barriers to delivering integrated rural transport services in particular:
|
How can we measure success?
Potential Measures of Success:
- Net Zero: Measure the greenhouse gas footprint of travel to and from the National Park against the baseline year of 2019, as part of a full footprint assessment every 5 years. Reach net zero GHG emissions by 2040.
- Number of Visitors: Measure the annual number of people visiting the National Park.
- Connection to Nature: Track the Nature Connectedness Index value for respondents who have visited the National Park. Baseline the value in 2023 and measure for any change every three years.
- Diversity: Track how representative our domestic visitors are of Scottish society.
- Visitor Economy: Track the overall value of the visitor economy. See it returning to 2019 levels of over £400 million, predominately driven by the Food & Drink and Accommodation sectors.
- Volunteering: Measure the number of hours of volunteering delivered under this Plan. Increase from the 2022 baseline.
- Strategic Investment: Track the total investment secured by 2030 to deliver the programme of co-ordinated improvements at strategic visitor sites.
- Car usage: Track private car usage to and within the National Park. Decrease against 2019/20 visitor survey baseline of 79% of people travelling to the National Park by car.
It also will be important to track things like use of buses, trains and waterbuses, active travel routes, new rural transport routes and business development, and whether we are supporting inactive people to become more active. Effective measurements for these will need to be discussed and agreed.
Policies for Creating a Sustainable, Low-Carbon Destination
In developing a high-quality visitor experience in the National Park, we will work to ensure that nature and recreation experiences are accessible to and informed by the needs of all groups in society.
Our approach will focus on:
- Enabling and encouraging more underrepresented and protected groups to enjoy the National Park.
- Ensure improved communication about the National Park into networks used by underrepresented audiences including to improve representation and participation in policy and decision making and to improve diversity generally in the work of the National Park Authority.
- Ensuring that investment and visitor sites and infrastructure takes account of the accessibility needs of all abilities and cultures.
- Encouraging local tourism and recreation businesses to improve accessibility in providing visitor offerings.
- Ensuring that more young people enjoy the outdoor experience in the National Park and are inspired to care more for nature and the climate.
The National Park Authority and its partners will take a place-based approach to investing in higher quality visitor facilities across publicly owned sites that reflects a sustainable balance between local needs, environmental sensitivities, and visitor demand. There will be a particular focus on ensuring improvements that enable sustainable travel, improved accessibility, visitor safety and responsible tourism.
Our Place programme work will focus on five thematic priorities:
- Supporting Sustainable Development - people and place, promoting a high-quality landscape experience through design excellence, for both visitors and communities, to enhance place quality and the landscape qualities of the National Park.
- Supporting Sustainable Development – climate and nature, leading a nature-based approach to design which addresses the climate and biodiversity crises using the principles of both Future Nature and Mission Zero, protecting and enhancing biodiversity, and capitalising on the benefits of nature and considering sustainability of design, materials, maintenance, and use.
- Supporting inclusion and improved accessibility to the National Park by identifying and facilitating actions that support equality and diversity to secure barrier free / inclusive access that meets the needs of all users.
- Supporting more sustainable ways of travel both to and within the National Park (Modal Shift) strengthening service support through a network of integrated hubs; walking, cycling, accommodation of electric vehicle (EV) use, and public and shared transport and the facilities required to increase uptake and address private car use increases.
- Supporting visitor management and dispersal, creating a flow of people to our more resilient places, and using good design, information and better provision to support more responsible behaviours, whilst reducing the need for visitor management operations and continuing a collective approach to ensure effective long-term stewardship of our sites.
Who needs to be involved in Creating a Sustainable, Low-Carbon Destination?
Enabling a Greener Economy and Sustainable Living
Aims & Objectives
Aim by 2045
The National Park has a greener and more diverse rural economy, with businesses capitalising on the market advantage of restored nature and a net zero place; supporting an increase in working age population and contributing towards, sustainable, thriving communities.
Objectives by 2030
| Objectives by 2030 | Actions |
Transition to a greener economy The National Park economy is transitioning to a greener, zero-carbon wellbeing economy in ways that are fair and inclusive to everyone and where the benefits arising from this are retained and shared locally. | 1) Establish a robust evidence base to identify where there are existing skills or labour shortages along with opportunities and demand for new green skills and jobs growth. 2) Develop a Green Skills and Just Transition Action Plan for the National Park to ensure the benefits arising from economic transition are shared in a fair and inclusive way. 3) Support closer working between the public sector, land managers, businesses and communities to grow the green economy, including opportunities for new business models, collaborative pilots and community led social enterprise that will help build and retain local economic wealth and grow the local workforce. |
Low-Carbon Businesses Businesses are reducing their carbon emissions from a shift to greener and more local supply chains, renewable energy use, more sustainable waste management, and greener forms of transport. | 1) Identify the support needs of existing businesses (including land and tourism) to help them transition to net zero, including specialist technical advice and identification of opportunities for collaborative support and action. 2) Seek the expansion of specialist business support and funding to facilitate carbon reduction. 3) Continue to support improvements to digital and telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate improvements in business operations and inimize the need for travel where appropriate. 4) Support collaboration between tourism businesses, communities and public sector partners on improved public transport solutions for employees and visitors. |
A wellbeing economy National Park communities are fully harnessing the opportunities arising from economic transition, seeing an increase in working age population through take up of new green jobs and experiencing a range of benefits from investment in natural capital within their local landscape. | 1) Through the National Park Authority’s planning role and working with housing partners, ensure new housing more closely corresponds to identified requirements of communities and the local labour force. 2) Update a framework of support for communities to fully realise the potential opportunities arising from transition to net zero through increased capacity building support, training and skills development for community anchor organisations. 3) Through learning programmes, training and events, support communities to understand how they can engage in and help inform land use decisions and investment in natural capital that can help address identified local community needs. |
Inclusion and learning opportunities More people within our communities are contributing to supporting a greener rural economy through increased learning, skills and volunteering opportunities. | 1) Refresh the National Park Authority- led volunteering programme in the Park, particularly to welcome new volunteers from our communities. 2) Design a whole volunteering pathway, providing opportunities to gain green skills, from youth programmes through to adult volunteering, skills sharing and beyond to employment. 3) Support young people to see their future in the National Park through development of traineeships, apprenticeships and placements that provide wide-scoping opportunities for green skills development and pathways into green jobs and careers. 4) Continue to grow the National Park Authority Youth Committee as a platform for young people from a wide range of backgrounds to engage with the National Park, be involved in decision making and advocate for their sustainable future. |
Aim by 2045
Our ecosystems are in good health and helping us to adapt to and mitigate against the climate crisis, supporting the National Park to be an overall net carbon sink for Scotland.
Objectives by 2030
| Objectives by 2030 | Actions |
Low carbon local living People living within the National Park are reducing their carbon emissions through both individual and community-led action to support the transition to net zero and more local living. | 1) Through the roll out of collaborative initiatives (such as the Scottish Government-led Community Climate Action Hub network), support communities to collaborate and lead more on climate action. 2) Support Councils’ work on rolling out Local Food Growing strategies and Local Heat and Energy Efficiency strategies. 3) Support improved opportunities to live more locally through taking a local place-based partnership approach towards service delivery, including supporting the retention of local services and facilities, public transport, alongside innovative new approaches towards rural service provision, including through digital and online opportunities. 4) Support opportunities to re-purpose and for multi-use of existing facilities including halls, local business hubs and valued heritage assets within communities. |
Increasing resilience to the changing climate Communities are climate-ready, having developed increased awareness and understanding of the impacts of climate change on health, buildings, local infrastructure, businesses and the surrounding natural environment and identified how to adapt and build resilience to living with a changing climate. | Support communities to identify ways in which they can take action on climate mitigation and climate adaptation, including consideration of how investment in natural capital can help support increased local resilience, particularly in relation to flooding, through local resilience plans, Local Place Plans, the new Local Development Plan and proposed Regional Land Use Partnership. |
Addressing housing needs Housing within the National Park better meets the needs of young and working-age people who want to work and live in the National Park, directly supporting the rural economy and vibrant rural communities. | 1) Through the new Local Development Plan, ensure that new housing responds to meeting local housing needs of both communities and the rural economy though a continued focus on affordable housing provision and securing delivery of a broader range of housing types and tenures. 2) Through the new Local Development Plan, stem the further loss of housing to holiday lets and second homes through consideration of interventions including a new requirement for all new homes to be for permanent occupation only and the merits of applying for Short Term Let Control Areas within certain areas of the National Park. 3) Support delivery of a minimum of 30 new homes per year. Through the preparation of the new Local Development Plan, consider whether this minimum requirement needs to be increased, informed by Local Place Plans, aligned to investment for nature and climate and where additional housing can support some of the more remote rural communities in the National Park. |
Rural transport and active travel People living and working in the National Park are less reliant on car-based travel through improvements to rural transport provision and active travel links within and between communities in and around the National Park.
| 1) Support communities to identify improvements to rural transport options through collaboration with public/private sector to establish innovative solutions or new social enterprise opportunities. 2) Establish active travel opportunities within and between communities to help more people meet their everyday needs by walking, cycling or wheeling as well as support health and wellbeing outcomes. |
Community influence and place making Communities are empowered to exert more influence and control over changes in and around the places where they live, delivering a range of outcomes that support local living and strengthening connections between people, land, nature, culture and heritage. | 1) Establish an updated framework from public and third sector organisations to provide increased support to communities to build and maintain capacity within their local organisations and to increase levels of confidence and knowledge to engage in decisions around improving local. This could be through networking, learning and skills development to provision of dedicated development support to assist with project identification, securing funding and delivery. 2) Support to communities to care for heritage assets, where possible linked to opportunities for re-use, social enterprise and job creation. |
Aim by 2045
New development and infrastructure is more responsive to the needs of land use and management, directly contributing to a wellbeing economy that benefits people, climate and natur.
Objectives by 2030
| Objectives by 2030 | Actions |
Identifying development needs and opportunities New development and infrastructure is delivered in an integrated way with investment in nature and carbon, helping to unlock the value of natural capital where possible and respond to locally identified needs and opportunities. | 1) Prepare a revised development strategy in the new Local Development Plan with a focus on development and infrastructure requirements to support nature, climate, low carbon rural living and community wealth building outcomes. 2) Through the new Local Development Plan, expand the coverage of area-based land use and development planning investment strategies in partnership with landowners, communities, businesses and public agencies, integrated, if possible, with the development of a Regional Land Use Framework for the National Park. 3) Support the delivery of nationally strategic infrastructure development identified by National Planning Framework 4 by ensuring these are designed and delivered in ways that are sensitive to the National Park’s special environmental and landscape qualities and maximise benefits to local communities, businesses and visitors. 4) Support the delivery of the strategic development needed at Callander to support sustainable expansion of the town and more local living outcomes, the delivery of strategic development that improves Balloch as a main visitor and transport interchange hub for the National Park as well as continuing place-based partnership working approach at Arrochar and Tarbet to support rural regeneration. |
Nature-first approach to development New development is helping to create nature- rich places and networks, with stronger connections established between places and habitats within and around the National Park. | 1) Ensure new development delivers positive outcomes for nature through securing biodiversity net gains on site and investing in local nature networks identified as part of the development of the new Local Development Plan. 2) Support awareness raising and sharing of good practice on development and nature. |
Delivering positive local outcomes Development and Infrastructure investment have directly contributed towards the creation of a wellbeing economy where local communities benefit from local wealth generation and are empowered to shape their own places, including more control and influence over land and assets.
| 1) Support local communities to influence how land and sites are used within and around towns and villages and ensure the benefits arising from this are retained and circulated locally, including greater influence via partnership working with public and private sectors and landowners and/or potentially through more community ownership of land and assets. 2) Through the new Local Development Plan set out an approach for inward investment in the tourism sector, recognising the important role of this sector to the rural economy and livelihoods, whist seeking to balance this with environmental carrying capacity and community views and aspirations on use of land and sites of local community importance. |
Rural transport and active travel People living and working in the National Park are less reliant on car-based travel through improvements to rural transport provision and active travel links within and between communities in and around the National Park.
| 1) Support communities to identify improvements to rural transport options through collaboration with public/private sector to establish innovative solutions or new social enterprise opportunities. 2) Establish active travel opportunities within and between communities to help more people meet their everyday needs by walking, cycling or wheeling as well as support health and wellbeing outcomes. |
Making the best use of land and assets Vacant and derelict sites within many of the National Park’s communities are being brought back into use and help to meet the needs of local communities and businesses or are restored to provide green infrastructure and support nature.
| 1) Work with communities, through Local Place Plans, to identify a list of undeveloped and vacant sites within and around towns and villages and that could be brought into use or restored to improve local places and nature. 2) Consider and identify the range of interventions required to facilitate bringing these sites back into use, including community right to buy, finance options and potentially Compulsory Purchase Orders where undeveloped sights are causing significant blight within local communities and/or are impacting on achieving net zero, nature restoration and/or sustainable local living outcomes. |
How can we measure success?
Potential Measures of Success:
- Net Zero: Measure the greenhouse gas footprint of National Park businesses against the baseline of 2019, as part of a full footprint assessment, every 5 years. Reach net zero GHG emissions by 2040.
- Population: Measure the extent of population change and composition at small area level and for the National Park overall.
- Green jobs: Track the creation of new or expanded numbers of jobs and business development opportunities, including social enterprise, in sectors that are crucial to the just transition of the National Park’s economy. For example, sustainable travel, woodland creation, peatland restoration and ecotourism.
- Community-led climate action: Track the number of community-led projects, or communities participating in projects, that tackle the climate emergency. By 2030 all National Park communities to have implemented actions to reduce their carbon footprint and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
- Homes: Measure the number of new homes (including by tenure and location) and number of existing homes removed from the housing system. Achieve a minimum of 30 new homes per year in the National Park.
- Stalled sites: Track the status of stalled sites and vacant/derelict sites. Increase the extent of sites that are re-developed or restored for nature.
- Development for nature, climate and people: Monitor new developments’ delivery against outcomes for nature, climate, low carbon rural living and community wealth building through a new Local Development Plan monitoring framework.
- Net gain for biodiversity: Measure the nature restoration secured through delivering new development, including biodiversity net gains on and offsite. All new development to provide biodiversity net gains.
It also will be important to track things like the new skills development opportunities developed, new low carbon transport services and active travel opportunities that meet local needs, and the number of community organisations able to influence or lead improvements to their local places (including influencing land use decision-making). Effective measurements for these will need to be discussed and agreed.
The National Park Authority will provide help to communities within the National Park to prepare Local Place Plans and will support implementation of these by focussing on those aspects that contribute to:
- communities transition to net zero living and working through actions that increase opportunities for low carbon local living
- building resilience to the impacts of the changing climate
- restoring nature on land within, around and between communities
- increased collaboration between communities and between communities and a range of public, private and third sector partners.
The National Park Authority and its partners will support communities to grow their influence to shape their local places through:
- supporting the preparation and implementation of Local Place Plans
- supporting increased opportunities for communities to consider and inform how land and sites are used and developed to help support resilient, sustainable, vibrant and healthy communities.
- consideration of opportunities to support local wealth building through generation and retention of more wealth by local community organisations and local rural businesses.
New housing within the National Park will help retain and attract young people and working age population through:
- focussing new housing provision on addressing local housing needs of communities and the rural economy
- a continued focus on enabling affordable housing delivery, including a more diverse range of affordable tenures and addressing the challenges of delivering rural housing and
- consideration of the interventions required to stop the loss of housing from the existing housing supply.
Development and infrastructure in the National Park will:
- Support tackling the climate emergency,
- Maximise opportunities to deliver or unlock nature restoration,
- Respond to meeting the needs of National Park communities and support more local living and working,
- Support a just transition for local businesses towards a greener, low carbon economy.
- Support growing a wellbeing economy including through opportunities for local wealth building and greater community-led development and project activity.
Nationally strategic development and infrastructure improvements associated with trunk road improvements, electricity transmission or hydro-electric power generation will be supported by ensuring opportunities to safeguard the environment and landscape qualities are maximised as well as creating enhanced opportunities for people to experience the National Parks special qualities.
Strategic scale development will be supported at Callander, Arrochar, Tarbet and Balloch through:
- Delivery of the southern expansion of Callander, needed to facilitate sustainable expansion of the town and to provide mixed uses in support of the development needs of both Callander and surrounding rural communities for which it acts as a service hub. The New Local Development Plan will re-consider the requirement for longer term land release beyond the currently identified mixed used development site for which a masterplan has been prepared to guide and support development.
- The prioritisation of development and infrastructure within Arrochar and Tarbet that helps unlock constrained, vacant and derelict sites, bringing them back into use in ways that support identified community needs, low carbon local living and improves infrastructure for visitors.
- The delivery of tourism investment in Balloch as a core strategic tourism gateway location, with opportunities for improved transport interchange as well as job creation and wider economic regeneration with adjoining areas to the National Park.
- Large scale wind farms will not be supported within the National Park in accordance with National Planning Framework 4. Wind Farm proposals adjacent to the National Park should be located and designed in ways that do not adversely impact on the special landscape qualities of the National Park.
Who needs to be involved in Enabling a Greener Economy and Sustainable Living?
This engagement phase has finished
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