One of the highest impacts on wildness reported to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is continued construction of new hill tracks. Ugly and environmentally damaging hill tracks are built every year with no requirement that they are considered through the planning system. Beautiful wild areas, appreciated by Scotland’s residents and visitors, are being blighted by these uncontrolled eyesores. The national importance of this has finally come to the notice of the Scottish Parliament. Peter Peacock MSP – following discussions with MCofS Access and Conservation Officer Hebe Carus – raised the issue at Parliamentary Questions in response to Hebe’s highlighting the incremental reduction in wild areas. Government figures show that between 2002 and 2005, the area of Scotland unaffected by views of man-made developments fell from 42% to 32%.
Now the campaign needs your help. Hebe says “I regularly receive photographs of outstandingly badly constructed tracks through previously wild areas, even in supposedly protected areas. The sad thing is that these are irreversible and completely uncontrolled through the planning system. The longer the review of Permitted Development Rights (PDR) is delayed the more of wild Scotland will be lost forever. PDR are regulations that are quite complicated, but basically permit landowners, without any permission or control, to construct tracks for forestry or agricultural reasons. Many of these tracks are in upland areas where there are only a few sheep or where an unviable plantation exists.
“The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 is supposed to modernise the planning system for the benefit of the people and environment of Scotland, but the implementation timetable is being permitted to slip repeatedly. There has already been more than a 3 year delay since a report by Heriot-Watt University, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, clearly recommended an extensive overhaul of the uncontrolled rights of landowners to construct hill tracks through our beautiful wild areas. The Scottish Government has taken no action on this. Unless there is considerable pressure put on the Scottish Government, the planned tightening of the system of controls will slip so far into the future that it has no prospect of being considered in this Scottish Parliament.
“Peter Peacock MSP is putting a Motion to Parliament to call for action. To gain generally parliamentary support, which is the only way the Motion will have notice taken of it, requires support from the electorate. Search for the Motion using “tracks” as keyword from this page. Please sign the e-petition here or write to your MSP as soon as possible. There is also the opportunity to add comments to the petition from the same webpage. After that date you may still be able to add your name by contacting petitions@scottish.parliament.uk. You can search for who is your MSP and their contact details here, and save our wild country from disappearing!