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Sir,
Alison Mitchell (letters 28 April) criticises ministers for appointing
nobody to represent the interests of outdoor recreation on the
Cairngorms National Park Board. Yet outdoor recreation is the mainstay
of the local economy.
Reprehensible too is the striking failure to appoint anyone with deep
expertise and international or UK credibility in looking after areas of
outstanding national importance for landscape and wildlife. Yet it is
well known that the landscape and wildlife of the Cairngorms are of high
international importance.
A further concern is split allegiances of park board members. For
example convener Andrew Thin, is juggling various hats. Apart from the
potential conflicts of interest in being a board member of the Crofter's
Commission and SNH (annual remuneration 12,500 pounds) he is chairman of
the John Muir Trust and a rural development consultant. Besides he has
been Chief Executive of Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise, part of the
HIE network whose stewardship of Cairngorm Estate continues to be mired
in controversy.
Rather than virtual nonentities on the national stage, the Cairngorms
deserve a team of outstanding relevant talent. The line-up of "local
farmers, estate managers and rural consultants" appointed is bereft of
vision. It seems that the process has been as Alison Mitchell puts it
"tainted by politicians". One likely culprit is former independent
Highland Council Convener and subsequent new Labour MSP Peter Peacock,
who has admitted in the press that while a minister he lobbied for the
Cairngorms Park Authority to have weaker powers than the Loch Lomond
one.
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