Consultation on membership of the Cairngorms National Park Authority

The public is being asked for its views on a proposal to reduce the number of members of the Cairngorms  National Park Authority from 25 to 19  by October 2010.

The consultation, which continues until 18 January, next year, will be available to view from Council Service Points and Libraries in the area.

The proposal 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 consultation document recommends that The Highland Council and 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.
 
Ministerial appointees will be the same as the total number of local authority nominees ie 7.
 
The number of directly elected members will remain unchanged at 5.

The Highland Council will consider its response at a meeting of the Council on 17 December. It currently has five nominees on the Authority.

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.