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Development of Guidance on the Responsible Promotion of Recreational Opportunity

The consultation over the proposed policy on the Responsible Promotion of Recreation closed on 24 July 2009. Feedback from the stakeholders indicated that there was a wide range of perspectives on the issues and that further work would be needed on the paper in order to reach a consensus. Therefore a revised draft document has been prepared and is presently undergoing a more targeted consultation.

This revised paper was presented to the Cairngorms Local Outdoor Access Forum on 11 May 2010 for further advice and comment. It will be put before the Cairngorms National Park Authority board for approval in July 2010.

The main adaptations have been as follows:

  • The 'policy' has become 'guidance' and will not feature as an adjunct to the Cairngorms National Park Outdoor Access Strategy at this stage;
  • The guidance clarifies that it is targeted predominantly at active promotion of activities, routes and places to the public, as opposed to the more casual use of chat forums, social networking sites etc;
  • The guidance draws greater attention to the special qualities and environmental context of the Cairngorms National Park;
  • The guidance refers to para 3.63 of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code which makes specific mention of promotional activities;
  • The guidance expands the section on the responsibilities of promoters, land managers and the CNPA and guides people towards the information provided by national governing bodies, for example British Horse Society, Scottish Canoe Association etc;
  • The guidance tries to achieve a more positive tone by describing, for example, what good promotion of recreation looks like.

Read the relevant Forum paper here.