Message
Working Together to Make a Difference 26/02/10
Hi,We were delighted to host a visit from the Environment
Minister, Roseanna Cunningham, here recently at our Headquarters in
Balloch. The purpose of the visit was to chair an urgent meeting to urge representatives
from national agencies, NGO’s and local authorities to contribute fully towards
helping with pressing National Park challenges.
In
her opening remarks, the Minister spoke of the importance of partner organisations
in working with the Park Authority, delivering the National Park objectives and
the collective duty to deliver the Park aims.
This
was followed by a rigorous discussion led by Scottish Natural Heritage chair
Andrew Thin, our National Park convener Mike Cantlay and Argyll & Bute
Council CEO Sally Loudon, focusing on a couple of key
issues – the role of the Park Authority, improving the visitor experience and
building the tourism potential.
The Environment Minister said: “All organisations with an interest
in the Park must engage in a productive and meaningful way to ensure that the
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park can fulfill its potential.
Our Park authorities have been set up as enabling bodies, working with
partners with expertise in specific areas to make a real difference to how
these locations are managed, preserved and enhanced. It is almost a
decade since the National Parks Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament and
considerable benefits have been delivered for the people of Scotland. All
organisations must now take stock, work together to clarify what the priorities
are and how best they can be delivered."
As you may know our National Park Plan 2007-2012 was developed to
provide a rally-cry to partners and it provides a vision for the Park in 25
years time. We have just completed a mid-term review which has now
distilled this Plan into five clearly-defined priorities and we hope this will
make its delivery much more straightforward and more measurable.
It is great to receive
further endorsement of our work here in the Park, especially as we are
highlighting some very contentious and urgent issues. We look forward to our
partner organisations working more closely with us to make this special part of
Scotland an amazing place to live and to visit.
There is also masses of work
underway as we approach the end of our financial year with many projects in
progress to help shape the future of the Park. We have again been
oversubscribed for all of this year’s various grant schemes which we run, which
gives us great feedback for looking at next year’s budgets and keep in place
initiatives which we all feel are really making a significant difference to the
Park. These are challenging times economically for us all and we are
determined to keep as much focus on delivering spend where it is needed and
dealing with some of the important and vital issues facing this special part of
Scotland.
Warm regards
Fiona