Amendment of Core Paths Plan

The Core Paths Plan is a statutory plan, designating a network of paths sufficient to provide reasonable access for the public to enjoy the outdoors across the Cairngorms National Park. The network is made up of constructed paths, grassy trails, forest tracks, quiet roads and rivers. This plan helps the Park Authority and its partners to identify investment priorities, support health, wellbeing and the local economy and reduces impacts on land management activities.   

Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 it is a duty of the National Park Authority to prepare and keep under review a Core Paths Plan. This will be the third edition of the Core Paths Plan; the original Core Paths Plan (2010) having previously been reviewed and a second edition adopted in 2015.   

Objectives of the Core Paths Plan   

The core paths network will:   

1. help to conserve the Park’s natural and cultural heritage and encourage people to enjoy it in a responsible way 
2. help those living and working on the land manage access 
3. help to deliver the priorities identified in Active Cairngorms 
4. provide for a wide range of activities 
5. be accessible to the widest possible range of users 
6. include a wide range of popular routes 
7. include paths within, around and between communities and to public transport connections and places of local importance.   

 Delivering the Core Paths Plan   

The Park Authority and partners will use the Core Paths Plan to prioritise resources and path development projects. Collectively we will use the Core Paths Plan to support sustainable visitor management, minimise impacts on sensitive species and habitats, and ensure the access needs of communities are met and incorporated into planning and development.  

Landowners, public agencies and communities can use the Core Paths Plan to manage where people are on their land, take account of recreational needs in development and community action planning and promote local recreational opportunities.  

The Park Authority will continue to monitor and assess if the core paths network is ‘fit for purpose’ supporting partners and landowners to undertake upgrading as appropriate. A core path that is fit for purpose is barrier free, signposted at either end, with a surface suitable for the likely range of users.   

Links to other plans and priorities   

The Core Paths Plan supports the vision of the Cairngorms National Park: ‘An Outstanding National Park, enjoyed and valued by everyone where nature and people thrive together’.  

 The delivery of other key strategies and priorities in the National Park, for example the National Park Partnership Plan, the Local Development Plan, the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan, are also supported and informed by the Core Paths Plan.  

The Core Paths Plan will help deliver the Active Cairngorms Action Plan, which encourages people to be more physically active and to learn about, care for and appreciate the National Park.   

The Core Paths Plan also informs large scale infrastructure projects through protecting and enhancing access opportunities, for example in and around proposed new developments or transport projects.    

Realignments deliver the same network outcome ie still go from ‘A to B’ but via a slightly different line, therefore the sufficiency of the core paths plan remains unaffected by these changes.  

Realignments have been made to account for: 

• Path changes on the ground ie where paths have been re-routed or the preferred route has changed.
• Newly constructed paths superseding previous old paths.
• Mapping changes to refine accuracy at higher mapping scales and following ground surveying of the network.

Some core paths have been de-designated and removed from the Draft Plan where this does not affect the overall sufficiency of the Plan. NB de-designating a core path will not result in any changes on the ground, it simply changes the status of it being a ‘core path’. 

De-designations include: 

• Core paths over private level crossings – as per instruction received from Scottish Ministers these have been removed.
• Core paths that have been superseded by newly constructed paths, which have since been designated as core paths. Having both paths designated is unnecessary and oversufficient.
• Core paths on roads and pavements which on review were deemed not to be required for the sufficiency of plan. Core paths, by definition, are ‘paths’ and connect with other access networks eg pavements.
• Core paths that no longer meet the objectives of the core paths plan. These include:
  • paths that are not safely passable due to significant erosion or damage.
  • paths that had previously been identified by communities as aspirational network links which are now no longer required.
  • paths superseded by other path developments.

These are routes that have been identified as valuable additions to the overall core paths network, and include suggestions made by the public during the informal consultation stage. They include newly constructed paths, aspirational network links and existing paths.