Partnership Plan progress celebrated by Park Authority board

Significant progress has been made in the second year of the National Park Partnership Plan 2022-27 and, overall, the plan is on track to deliver the outcomes set for 2030 and 2045. The topic was discussed by Park Authority board members as part of the September board meeting today.

The Partnership Plan sets out how all those with a responsibility for the National Park will work together over a five-year period to tackle critical issues that relate to its people, nature and places, and ultimately address the nature and climate crisis.

Significant progress has been made on Nature objectives, with thousands of hectares of woodland expansion and peatland restoration taking place. Species recovery has been particularly successful, with beavers thriving again in the National Park after more than 400 years, and the innovative captive breeding programmes and release of pine hoverfly and wildcats.

Good progress has been made on the People objectives, too, with a marked increase in accredited Real Living Wage employers in the National Park and an increase of 39% in community-owned assets in the National Park.

The Place objectives have also seen significant progress, with the continued delivery of affordable and mid-market rent housing in Badenoch and Strathspey, and a winter marketing campaign delivered in partnership with the Cairngorms Business Partnership which saw a 28% increase in visitors in the off-peak period from January to March 2023, compared to 2019 data.

Sandy Bremner, Convener at the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “I am delighted with the progress made on objectives in year two of the National Park Partnership Plan 2022-27. The fact that we’re exceeding or meeting objectives early on key actions to address the nature and climate crisis is a testament to the efforts of more than 100 partners, public bodies and communities involved in delivering the work. With all the work so far, we’re well on the way to delivering the outcomes for this National Park Partnership Plan.

“We are far from complacent, though, given the sheer scale of the challenges ahead. It has never been more important that we work at speed to deliver for nature and the people who live, work in and visit the Cairngorms National Park.”

Progress on Nature objectives has been particularly strong in the second year of the plan, delivering long term, landscape-scale actions that will help the Cairngorms become the UK’s first net zero national park.  Over 2,500 hectares of woodland creation has been approved and 1,345 hectares of peatland is under restoration, both making excellent progress towards achieving targets set for 2027. In addition, around 60 farms across the National Park are now delivering nature-friendly farming projects to deliver Cairngorms Nature Action Plan objectives. River restoration is another key element in the Partnership Plan and, to date, almost £3.5 million has been secured by river catchment partnerships to support this.

The People objectives of the plan have seen considerable progress, including a significant increase in the number of businesses paying at least the Real Living Wage and/or accredited as official Real Living Wage employers, and the delivery of a multi-partner careers’ fair – ‘Your Future Here’ – encouraging over 400 young people to consider a career in the Cairngorms. In addition, the number of assets in community ownership or management increased to 99 by the end of March 2024, a 39% increase since 202,1 and £460,000 of grant awards were made by the Cairngorms Trust from Scottish Government’s Community-led Vision Fund and other sources (including the Park Authority).

The Place objectives of the Partnership Plan also saw good progress, with the delivery of affordable and mid-market rent housing in Carrbridge, Dulnain Bridge and Kingussie through Highland Council’s affordable housing delivery programme. A coordinated winter marketing campaign with the Cairngorms Business Partnership aimed to encourage a more even spread of visitors in the quieter winter period and this helped increase numbers of visitors in those target months. Compared to the pre-Covid data from 2019, there was a 28% increase in visitors from January to March 2023, and a 10% increase from October to December 2023. The National Park was also awarded the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas again in October 2023 – the only UK national park to have this status – establishing the National Park as an exemplar for sustainable tourism for the fourth time since 2005.

Almost 1,500 people helped shape the plan in a public consultation phase before the National Park Partnership Plan was launched in August 2022. Reviewed annually, the Partnership Plan’s progress is measured on objectives in the themes of Nature, People and Place.

Find the papers for the board meeting on 13 September 2024 here.

Visit the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan microsite here and find the appendix document here.