Cairngorms

Communities have say on Big Park Big Questions

30th August 2016

The Association of Cairngorms Communities is hosting a special ‘Big Park Big Questions’ event at The Lecht Ski Centre and all the Park’s communities are invited!

Big Park Big Questions is the consultation on the next Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) for 2017-22. The Cairngorms NPPP is a management plan for the whole Park, setting out a vision and overarching strategy for managing the area. It sets out how all those with a responsibility for the Park will co-ordinate their work to tackle the most important issues, of which nine have been identified to focus the consultation.

The event on Tuesday 13th September starts at 2pm and is primarily aimed at Issue 8 – Community Capacity and Empowerment, with conversations and discussions around how the Cairngorms National Park Authority and other agencies can provide the best opportunity for local people to work together on delivering shared priorities and by providing consistent and clear support for community planning.

Lee Haxton, the CNPA’s Community Support Manager said: “With the Community Empowerment Act and Land Reform Act in place, sufficient support structures are required to help build capacity and encourage empowerment – particularly in the most fragile of the Park’s communities – ensuring opportunities can be acted upon when they arise. So its crucially important communities have their say on how they see this happening by either coming along to the event at The Lecht or by responding to the consultation via the Park Authority website.”

At the meeting there will also be the opportunity to look at some of the other issues identified, which are:

  • Landscape Scale Conservation
  • Deer and Moorland Management
  • Flood management
  • Visitor infrastructure
  • Active Cairngorms
  • Learning & Inclusion
  • Housing
  • Economic Development

Big Park Big Questions closes on 30th September. Following this, the proposed NPPP will go before the CNPA board before being submitted to Ministers for approval in the spring of 2017. You can get more information on the Cairngorms National Park Authority website and keep up to date on Twitter via @cairngormsnews using #BigParkBigQuestions.

For more information on the Community Capacity and Empowerment event on 13th September at The Lecht or to confirm attendance please email: [email protected]