Access Taskforce

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29 September 2006, LINK Access Taskforce, Consultation Responses

Enjoying the Outdoors

This is the response of Scottish Environment LINK to the SNH consultation on Enjoying the Outdoors.

We would like to see Scotland drawing on experience in other countries – particularly in Scandinavia - to develop a closer relationship between the residents of Scotland and their landscape. Visits to the outdoors should be a regular part of people’s leisure time. Responsible access should be built into the school curriculum and other educational activities, with all schools participating in outdoor activities. This document should set the scene for this cultural shift to take place.

1 September 2006, LINK Access Taskforce, Consultation Responses

Cairngorms National Park Draft Outdoor Access Strategy

We support and endorse this strategy and hope that other access authorities will refer to it as a model of best practice that will inform and advise them in drawing up and reviewing their own access strategies. It covers access issues of importance to both residents of and visitors to the park in great detail.

1 December 2004, LINK Access Taskforce, Parliamentary Briefings

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003: Draft Guidance for Local Authorities and National Park Authorities

We are concerned that the Act and the intention behind the legislation have been wrongly or too narrowly interpreted. We feel that these areas could lead to misunderstandings in the implementation of the Act, and would like to draw these to the attention of the committee so that they may be placed on public record.Submission to the Justice 1 Committee from the Scottish Environment LINK Access Network

1 March 2004, LINK Landscape Taskforce, Consultation Responses

Scotland's Future Landscapes?

A response to the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) consultation on Scotland's Future Landscapes.

LINK agrees with the integrative approach suggested within this paper, but emphasises that the European Landscape Convention must underpin all future policies and strategies in Scotland if landscape is not to remain very much undervalued as at present. An effective strategy for safeguarding and enhancing landscapes must be the outcome of not only this consultation but must also be reflected in the policy and strategies arising from the current reviews of agriculture, forestry and planning. Three landscape sectors need particular attention:-

• Stronger protection for those landscapes that might be recognised as being of global, European or National importance including National Parks, National Scenic Areas, and areas of wild land and cultural landscapes which are presently not designated.
• More effective management of the changing practices in agriculture and forestry to recognise the switch in emphasis from production to consumption and the opportunities afforded by new national planning provisions for biodiversity and water.
• Enhancement of 'green spaces' around and even within cities, towns and villages that afford opportunities for leisure and recreation and are vital to a sense of place and identity, historical continuity and community identity.

In addition, coastlines or seascapes need to be more closely recognised in line with the landscape principles set out in the paper.

20 June 2001, LINK Access Taskforce, Consultation Responses

Land Reform - The Draft Bill
Access Legislation and the draft Scottish Outdoor Access Code

A number of the key technical issues and mechanisms in the Bill lead to an unbalanced approach and depart, significantly, from the consensus proposals worked out through long negotiation by the Access Forum, and substantially endorsed by Scottish Natural Heritage. The Bill, as it stands, with its proposals for ad hoc suspension of the right of access by landowners and for criminal sanctions, may substantially undermine even the established access currently enjoyed by visitors to the countryside. Furthermore, it could reduce future opportunities for enjoying the outdoors rather than enhancing these and extending them to a wider public.