Board Meeting - September 2023

This document contains the draft minutes of the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board Meeting held on 23 June 2023. The meeting covered a range of topics, including wildfires in the National Park, the Cairngorms 2030 delivery phase application to the National Lottery Heritage Horizons Fund (NLHF), amendments to standing orders, the Cairngorms National Park Local Development Plan, and the Framework Agreement with the Scottish Government. The board also reviewed the Public Sector Equality Duty Update on Equality Outcomes 2021-2025 and minutes from committee meetings, and the next meeting is scheduled for 8 September.

This document contains the CEO report and convener update from the Cairngorms National Park Authority, dated 8 September 2023. It highlights strategic work areas, including Cairngorms 2030 project application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, deer management collaboration, peatland restoration progress, moorland projects, and wildfire management planning. The report also covers visitor services and active travel initiatives, local development plan progress, housing delivery support, sustainable tourism, and business and visitor data. Communication efforts include fire messaging, the Cairngorms Nature Festival, and public engagement events. Additionally, the document touches on corporate communications, website development, branding, organizational development, staffing updates, youth employment, equalities, and financial matters. Finally, the convener's update mentions ministerial visits, visitor levy discussions, fire service response, wildfire discussions, business relationships, beaver reintroduction consultations, public events, youth action team engagement, and wider stakeholder engagement.

This document contains an annual update on the National Park Partnership Plan for the Cairngorms National Park, prepared by Gavin Miles, Head of Strategic Planning, and dated 8 September 2023. The report summarizes the monitoring framework and identifies key areas showing progress after the first year of the plan's implementation. It highlights achievements under the themes of Nature, People, and Place, noting advancements in peatland restoration, rare species reinforcement, community projects, affordable housing, and sustainable tourism. The Cairngorms National Park board is asked to note the progress summarized in the document. The report also outlines future steps, including continued work by partners, ongoing monitoring, and broader communication of progress to local communities.

This document contains the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (Park Authority) update on the National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) monitoring framework from August 2023. It outlines the progress on a range of objectives, including reaching net zero emissions, expanding woodland, restoring peatland, managing deer and herbivore impacts, and improving moorland management. It also covers gamebird management, fire management, farming practices, freshwater systems, ecological networks and restoration, species recovery, and green investment. Additionally, the document addresses people-related objectives, such as working-age population, wellbeing economy, real living wage, skills and training, community assets, citizen participation, community-led planning, Gaelic language, mental and physical health, volunteering and outdoor learning and creating a park for all and place-related goals like access to housing, new housing, community benefit, village centres, visitor numbers, sustainable tourism and transport improvements.

This document contains an update on the Cairngorms National Park Authority's corporate performance for the 2022/23 financial and operational year. This year was a transitional one between the old and new Corporate Plans. The board is asked to review the update, discuss any important issues, and consider the current strategic risk register. The document includes a summary performance report, information on the development of a revised corporate performance framework, and details on risk management. The Strategic Risk Register will be updated, and the board's input on the register's coverage is welcome.

This document contains a performance report extract from the draft 2022/23 Annual Report and Accounts for the Cairngorms National Park Authority. It summarizes the Park Authority's financial performance against its approved budget and grant-in-aid from the Scottish Government, noting an increase in grant-in-aid settlement for 2022/23 with uplifts for peatland restoration and nature biodiversity. Income from other sources increased, primarily from partner funding, and overall income has grown significantly since 2019/20, with grant-in-aid being the primary source. The report also highlights key activities related to nature and climate change, people, and place, including woodland expansion, peatland restoration, path improvements, and sustainable tourism initiatives. The Park Authority also focuses on corporate services like organizational development, staff consultation, and IT infrastructure while prioritizing sustainability and climate change, aiming for Net Zero emissions.

This document contains a discussion paper for the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board about capercaillie conservation. The paper outlines the next steps in capercaillie conservation, following up on previous discussions and advice from NatureScot (NatureScot) and the Minister. It highlights the need for a coordinated approach to restore pinewood habitat, develop a costed management plan, and conduct a pine marten population survey, and also discusses the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2023-2027 which was approved by Ministers in August 2022. The Board is asked to note the Park Authority's commitment to working with NatureScot to develop a spatially explicit plan, with regular updates from the Performance Committee, and the document then outlines strategic risk management, implications, success measures, background information and next steps relating to capercaillie conservation in the Cairngorms National Park.

This document contains a paper prepared for the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board, seeking their views on managing visitors in the Cairngorms National Park. The paper discusses strategic policy considerations, including the National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) 2023-2027, visitor management, and sustainable tourism. It also addresses strategic risk management, engagement with visitors, enforcement, wildfire risk, disturbance to wildlife, and visitor infrastructure, particularly in the Glenmore area. The document also discusses potential bylaw changes to control fires and camping. The Board is asked to note the work underway, the timetable for the Active Cairngorms Action Plan, and provide direction on which options staff should investigate further. The next steps involve stakeholder engagement in developing the Active Cairngorms Action Plan and Integrated Wildfire Management Plan, as well as establishing costs and resource implications.

This document contains information for the Cairngorms National Park Authority board regarding the upcoming election of a new Planning Committee Convener, as the current convener's term ends on 31 October 2023. The paper outlines the proposed election process, which will begin with nominations in early November, followed by an electronic ballot if needed, with the results announced on 23 November 2023. Additionally, the document addresses the use of substitutes for committee members, allowing members to nominate a substitute for attendance at certain committee meetings with at least 5 days' notice, and specifies that substitutes will count towards the quorum for meetings.

This document contains a review of the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Board Member Fee Policy, which was put together by the Board's Resources Committee. The paper asks the board to approve a few things, including increasing the base level time input for board members from 30 to 32 days each year, removing top-up provisions for attending community council meetings, and agreeing to automatic fee deductions if attendance at board and committee meetings falls below 90% due to unauthorised absences. The document also asks the board to note proposed changes to time allocations for the Board Convener, Board Deputy Convener, and Planning Committee Convener roles, as well as proposed changes in the levels of fees paid to the holders of these roles and are awaiting approval from the Scottish government.

This document contains a review of the Cairngorms National Park Authority's Board Fees Policy. In 2019, a revised policy was agreed upon to allow members to gain extra days through volunteering and offset missed days with additional work. The current review proposes increasing the base day allocation to 32 days to include community meeting attendance, removing top-up payments for Community Council meetings, increasing the attendance threshold to 90% with automatic deductions for non-authorised absences, and creating a new list of appointments to external and internal groups. The committee is asked to agree to these revisions.

This document contains a review of the allocations for the Convener, Deputy Convener, and Planning Convener roles within the Cairngorms National Park Authority. It highlights that the current allocations may not accurately reflect the time commitment required for these positions, especially considering increased workloads and stakeholder engagement. The document suggests increasing the Convener's allocation to 2.5 days a week, the Deputy Convener's to two extra days a month, and reducing the Planning Convener's to eight additional days a year to align with the reduced number of Planning Committees. The committee is asked to consider requesting these changes from the Scottish Government as part of the annual Board Fees submission, with proposed implementation dates for each role in August, September and November 2023, and stating changes will not affect current post holders.

This document contains the board committee minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority, prepared by the Clerks to the Board on 8 September 2023. It presents the approved minutes for Audit and Risk, Governance, Performance, and Resource Committee meetings held between March and June 2023. The document also includes draft minutes for meetings held between June and August 2023. The Board is asked to note the minutes, which can be found on the board portal, website, or requested via email.

This document contains the minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board Meeting held on 8 September 2023. The meeting covered a range of topics including an update on the National Park Partnership Plan, corporate performance for 2022/23, capercaillie conservation efforts, managing visitors in the Cairngorms National Park, and the election of the Planning Committee Convener. Discussions also included the board member fee policy and minutes from various committee meetings, with the next board visit planned for the Angus Glens in October.