Earlier this year I wrote of my concerns about proposals by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority to extend bylaws to ban informal camping in areas throughout the park a measure originally supposed to be temporary.
Scottish Government ministers are considering the proposals submitted by the authority and are soon to take a decision.
A big part of the issue is the sheer numbers of visitors the park gets and which it doesn’t have the facilities to deal with.
However, instead of trying to ban people, improvements need to be made to increase responsible public enjoyment of the park to benefit residents and visitors.
The problem isn’t a lack of legislative controls over campers but a lack of informal campsites, parking areas, toilet and litter facilities and a failure to deal with the minority who are causing criminal damage. All of that can be done using existing powers.
It appears the evidence used to support claims to extend the bylaws is shaky as it doesn’t discern between other measures introduced at the same time.
These included prohibiting consumption of alcohol, establishment of an informal camp site and enhanced ranger and police patrols.
The authority’s claim that camping bylaws alone led to an 81% reduction in antisocial behaviour problems, which it went on to use to win support from locals for the current camping bylaw proposals, is misleading.
Worryingly, it wants to go further and is recommending to the Land Reform Review Group that similar camping proposals be extended throughout Scotland along with legislative changes which would allow rangers and police officers to issue fixed-penalty notices to anyone they considered was acting irresponsibly accessing land and water.
This would overturn the public rights of access secured by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.
The First Minister has said: “Scotland’s land must be an asset that benefits the many, not the few.”
Therefore, I hope her government rejects these proposals.