The UK will create a new national park in Scotland

The United Kingdom will establish a new national park in the south of Scotland.

The Scottish government announced the decision that Galloway Forest Park and the region surrounding it were selected among five candidate sites to be designated as an official UK national park. Galloway National Park will become the UK’s 16th official national park and Scotland’s third.

The BBC says it will mark the first time in 15 years that the UK has added a new national park to its portfolio of protected areas.

The Galloway National Park Association celebrated the decision. The Association has long been advocating for their preferred site to be upgraded to national park status. The group says the UK national government had earlier pledged to create another national park in Scotland by 2026.

“Galloway is extraordinary,” said GNPA Chair Rob Lucas in an overview. “Its rolling hills, open moorlands, mountains, rivers, lochs, rugged coasts, and seascapes mean it comes as close as any region realistically can to being a Scotland in miniature.”

Advocates for the new national park designation also argue that the region of southwestern Scotland could use the economic lift from the boost to tourism that would come.

The center of the future national park is about a 90-minute drive south of Glasgow.

The designation is not a done deal quite yet.

Though Galloway has been singled out as the ecosystem best suited for a new national park designation, the BBC reports that Scotland’s natural resources authority must make a report for Scotland’s parliament to review by April 2025 before final action is taken.

Following a review, the Parliament would then vote on whether or not to make the formal designation.

The review and report production may not go entirely smoothly. Agricultural interests in the region have already expressed concerns about the new national park’s establishment. They fear new layers of bureaucracy and restrictions.

GNPA argues that the establishment of Galloway National Park would greatly benefit the surrounding communities, including farms.

The group argues that establishing a national park will help that region better secure its future.

“It’s a wonderful place to live, but it has the lowest average pay for full-time work in Scotland,” GNPA said in a statement. “Young people are reluctantly leaving due to lack of opportunities and the average age is rising fast.”

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