Board Meeting - June 2022

This document contains the agenda for the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board meeting on 10 June 2022. The meeting will cover topics such as welcoming attendees, approving minutes from the previous meeting, a chief executive officer report, and updates from the convener. Key decisions will be made regarding the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2022-2027, the role of the Cairngorms National Park Authority in beaver translocation, a review of capercaillie conservation and management, and planning enforcement action. Additionally, the agenda includes information items like the Public Sector Equality Duty Report 2021 and draft minutes from committee meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for 9 September 2022.

This document contains the draft minutes from a Cairngorms National Park Authority board meeting held via video conference on 25 March 2022. The meeting included a welcome and introduction by the Board Convener, where attendees acknowledged a fire in Braemar and extended thoughts to Ukrainian colleagues. Discussions covered declarations of interest, approval of previous meeting minutes, and updates on action points from those minutes. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) provided a report, and the board considered the 2022/23 budget development, strategic risk management, corporate performance, and a consultation response to the draft National Planning Framework 4. They also agreed to adopt a revised Model Code of Conduct. The CEO reminded board members to address any minute-related questions to committee chairs and noted the date of the next formal board meeting as 10 June 2022, before closing the public portion of the meeting.

This document contains the CEO report and convener update for the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) formal board paper on 10 June 2022, covering strategic work areas, conservation efforts like peatland restoration and deer management, and rural development initiatives. It also highlights visitor management, improvements to long distance routes, and progress on the National Park Partnership Plan. The report details stakeholder engagement activities, communications strategies including the Cairngorms Nature Big Weekend, and organisational development, including staffing updates and equalities initiatives. Finally, it includes external engagements of the board convener and other board members.

This document contains a formal board paper from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) regarding the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2022-27. The purpose of the document is to seek the Park Authority Board's agreement to the plan, so it can then be submitted to Scottish Ministers for approval. The National Park Partnership Plan is the management plan for the Cairngorms National Park, and is updated every five years. The document outlines the strategic context of the plan, the public consultation process undertaken to create it, and the plan's vision, outcomes, and approach to nature, people and place. It also highlights changes made to the plan following the public consultation, and details the supporting information and assessments that will be submitted alongside the plan to Scottish Ministers.

This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan for 2022 to 2027, which aims to create a carbon-negative and biodiversity-rich National Park where nature and people thrive together. The plan outlines key goals for nature, people, and place, emphasizing sustainable tourism, community involvement, and a fair distribution of resources. It also stresses the importance of collaboration among stakeholders, including government, businesses, landowners, and communities, to address the climate emergency and nature crisis. With focus on increasing affordable housing, enhancing transport, and protecting cultural heritage, the plan seeks to balance economic development with the conservation of the Cairngorms National Park’s unique environment.

This document contains a consultation report from the Cairngorms National Park Authority regarding the National Park Partnership Plan for 2023-2027. The formal consultation period took place between 23 September and 17 December 2021 and gathered responses on key themes such as Nature, People and Place. Overall, 1,453 responses were received. The report analyses these responses, summarises overall feedback, and identifies key trends and issues raised by participants, including demographic information. It shows there's broad support for the plan's direction, but also highlights concerns about affordable housing, traditional land management, and the need for clearer objectives and targets, it was found that the lack of affordable housing was a common concern, and that there were diverent opinons about the benefits of commmunity ownership and governance.

This document contains a strategic environmental assessment report, dated June 2022, which includes a habitats regulations appraisal, regarding the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan for 2022-2027. This environmental report assesses the potential environmental effects of the plan for the Cairngorms National Park and identifies measures that partner organisations and the Park Authority will work on together to meet the aims for National Parks. The NPPP identifies solutions through policies, objectives, targets and actions, with the main purpose of the Strategic Environmental Assessment being to identify where effects may occur in order to enable amendments to minimise harmful effects. The document goes on to include several tables, plans, programmes and strategies relevant to the NPPP.

This document contains an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) 2022-2027. The NPPP sets out a strategy for managing the Cairngorms National Park, including how public bodies will work together. It's arranged into sections covering nature, people, and place, with long-term goals up to 2045 and shorter-term actions for the next five years. The EqIA looks at how the NPPP might affect communities, residents, visitors, and other interested parties, especially focusing on groups with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010. The assessment covers legislative responsibilities, available evidence, and consultation efforts, with plans to monitor the NPPP's delivery and its impact on equality throughout its implementation.

This document contains a paper for the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) board, discussing the Park Authority's role in beaver translocation in Scotland, in line with the Scottish Government's policy to expand the beaver population. The paper recommends that the board considers options to help move beavers into the Cairngorms National Park and to approve the Park Authority taking a lead role in applying for beaver translocation. It highlights that NatureScot is developing a National Beaver Strategy for 2022-2045 to encourage beaver expansion and the Park Authority is expected to be part of the strategy's governance group. Modelling work has identified the Spey catchment as a priority release candidate, with approximately 7,000 hectares of suitable habitat. The paper outlines three potential roles for the Park Authority: observer, facilitator, or leader, recommending that the Park Authority take a leadership role, with an estimated cost of £70,000 per year for two years.

This document contains a review of capercaillie conservation and management in the Cairngorms National Park. It presents the current situation, taking into account discussions with stakeholders after the NatureScot Scientific Advisory Committee report. The document recommends that the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) provide advice to staff, support diversionary feeding, lead further consultation on nature refuges, work with Scottish Forestry on fence marking and removal, support habitat enhancement, and provide strategic oversight of capercaillie conservation. The document also discusses stakeholder engagement, predator control, refuges from human disturbance, fencing, habitat management, climate change, genetic diversity, and spatial strategy. It concludes that NatureScot and the Park Authority are working together to prepare a briefing for the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.

This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) Report 2021 update for 2022. This update is a reissue of the report from April 2021, but it doesn't include progress on equality outcomes and actions, which will be covered in a separate report in April 2023. While the original report met PSED compliance, it was basic due to time constraints and Covid-related challenges, so the update aims to enhance the report with restructured content, images, case studies, and better accessibility through improved formatting and navigation. The updated report has been presented to the Resources Committee, who endorsed it.

This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (CNPA) Public Sector Equality Duty Report for 2021, updated in 2022. It highlights the CNPA's work to promote equality and inclusion across its operations, including its work with staff, visitors, and the wider community, as well as it's commitment to reducing inequalities and promoting diversity in line with the Equality Act. The report reviews progress against equality outcomes from 2017 to 2020 and sets out new equality outcomes and action plans for 2021 to 2024 which focus on the staff, visitors and stakeholders of the National Park. Also contained is an overview of data on staff, board members, and visitors, along with details on how the CNPA is working to address issues such as the gender pay gap and improve accessibility across the park.

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Performance Committee meeting on 13 May 2022, and the Audit & Risk Committee meeting on 27 May 2022; these minutes are being reviewed. The Resources Committee and Governance Committee meetings were rescheduled from 13 May 2022 to 2 June 2022, so those minutes aren't ready yet. The Board is asked to note the draft minutes of the Performance and Audit & Risk Committee meetings.