Council response to consultation on CNPA membership

The Highland Council is to seek greater representation than is proposed in a review of the membership of the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

The consultation, which continues until 18 January, next year, envisages the membership being reduced from 25 to 19 members and recommends that The Highland Council’s current representation of five members be cut to two.

The Council believes it should have three members, including one local member, to better reflect that 70% of the population in the park live in the Highlands. To accommodate the extra member, the Council says the number of Ministerial appointments could be reduced from seven to six.

The review also proposes that Aberdeenshire Council nominate two members to the board, including one local member, who lives in the Board area, while Moray, Angus and Perth and Kinross councils  nominate one member to the Board. The number of directly elected members will remain unchanged at 5.

The proposal to reduce the park membership follows a strategic review of National Parks in Scotland, which concluded that  there was a clear case for reducing the size of the membership  to support effective governance, whilst still maintaining a mix of three types of member (i.e. ministerial appointee, local authority nominee and directly elected).

In order to bring this about, the Scottish Government will be required to make an Order modifying the original Designation Order setting up the Cairngorms National Park.

The public is asked to send responses  to: National Parks and Outdoor Recreation Branch, Landscapes and Habitats Division, Rural Directorate, The Scottish Government, 1-A North, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ or email: Nationalparks@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.