As the General Election draws closer, party leaders at Westminster and Holyrood have been challenged to say where they stand on the protection of Scotland’s mountains and wild land.
Thousands of people have already signed a petition calling for protection for these nationally important assets to be strengthened. Now the Mountaineering Council of Scotland is asking party leaders to state their position and help people to decide which way to vote.
A month ago the MCofS, which represents mountaineers, climbers and hill walkers, published and sent to MPs for Scottish seats and MSPs its vision for the future of mountains and wild land, ‘Respecting Scotland’s Mountains’.
The organisation also launched a petition to the Scottish Government urging it:
– To ensure that Scotland’s precious remaining areas of wild land, as identified by Scottish Natural Heritage’s wild land map, are fully protected from large scale development.
– To change current Scottish planning policy to clarify that planning applications for industrial developments in mapped areas of wild land will be unacceptable.
4,000 people have signed the petition – at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/wild-land – and numbers are still rising.
David Gibson, MCofS Chief Officer, said: “‘Respecting Scotland’s Mountains’ emphasises the importance of stronger protection for our mountains and wild land in environmental and economic terms, and for the benefit of public health.
David Gibson, MCofS Chief Officer
“There is a real need for people to know how the parties view the protection of these rapidly diminishing, nationally important assets and how they propose to provide stronger future protection. We are asking for a statement of intent – one which we can share with our members and the public prior to the general election, so that they can make an informed decision when they vote.”