A map of the National Scenic Areas of Scotland

National scenic area (NSA) is a conservation designation used in Scotland, and administered by NatureScot on behalf of the Scottish Government. The designation's purpose is to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to protect them from inappropriate development. There are currently 40 national scenic areas (NSAs) in Scotland, covering 13% of the land area of Scotland.[1] The areas protected by the designation are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned".[2] As such they tend to be mainly found in remote and mountainous areas,[1] with a review in 1997 noting a potential weakness of national scenic areas was that the original selection placed undue emphasis on mountainous parts of the country.[3] National scenic areas do however also cover seascapes, with approximately 26% of the total area protected by the designation being marine.[4] The designation is primarily concerned with scenic qualities, although designated national scenic areas may well have other special qualities, for example related to culture, history, archaeology, geology or wildlife. Areas with such qualities may be protected by other designations (e.g. national nature reserve) that overlap with the NSA designation.[5]

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National scenic areas are designated by the IUCN as Category V Protected Landscapes, the same international category as Scotland's two national parks.[1] Within the United Kingdom the NSA designation is regarded as equivalent to the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.[1]

The national scenic area designation does not have a high profile when compared to other conservation designations used in Scotland: in 2018 a survey by the National Trust for Scotland found that only 20 % of Scots were "definitely aware" of national scenic areas, compared to 80 % for National Parks.[6]

History

The Cuillin Hills national scenic area.

After the Second World War, the Labour government passed the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which led to the creation of ten national parks in England and Wales between 1951 and 1957, although no parks were created in Scotland. A committee, chaired by Sir Douglas Ramsay, was however established to consider preservation of the landscape in Scotland. The report, published in 1945, proposed that five areas (Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, the Cairngorms, Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount, Wester Ross and Glen Strathfarrar-Glen Affric-Glen Cannich) should receive a level of protection.[7] Accordingly, the government designated these areas as "national park direction areas", giving powers for planning decisions taken by local authorities to be reviewed by central government. After a further review of landscape protection in 1978, additional areas were identified for protection, and in 1981 the direction areas were replaced by national scenic areas, which were based on the 1978 recommendations.[3]

Following the passage of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, two national parks were established: Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and the Cairngorms National Park.[8] Both of these parks included areas that were already designated as national scenic areas, and the NSA designation remains in place alongside national park status for the areas in question.

Scottish Natural Heritage reviewed the national scenic areas between November 2007 and March 2009 to try to identify what makes the scenery of each NSA special;[5] however no formal review into the number and extent has been undertaken since the original report. The current national scenic areas, which therefore remain as originally mapped in 1978, were legally redesignated in 2010.[9] Despite calls from bodies such as the John Muir Trust for the protection to be extended to other areas to protect landscape and support tourism, the Scottish Government has stated that it has no plans to designate further areas. In September 2017 the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee asked the government to explain why it is not reviewing the NSAs.[10]

Operation

The Kyles of Bute national scenic area in Argyll and Bute.

NSAs are currently designated under the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006: all 40 current NSAs were redesignated under this act via a single order in 2010.[9] Designation provides an additional level of protection to specified areas. For developments that would ordinarily require only local authority planning permission the Scottish Government must be informed if advice from NatureScot is ignored.[11] Additionally, there are some classes of development that would not normally require planning permission to proceed when located outwith a national scenic area, but which are subject to controls within them. These developments include the erection of agricultural and forestry buildings over 12 m high, the construction of vehicle tracks for agriculture or forestry purposes (unless forming part of an approved scheme), and local authority roadworks outside present road boundaries costing more than £100,000.[11]

There is no equivalent to a national park authority for national scenic areas, as controls on development are exercised through the planning system. Local authorities can produce a management strategy for each of the NSA within its territory. This strategy defines the area's special qualities and identifies the actions needed to safeguard them. As of 2018, only the three national scenic areas within Dumfries and Galloway have current management strategies .[12]

Public access to all land in Scotland is governed by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which grants the public a right of responsible access to most land (and water) for activities such as walking, camping, cycling, canoeing, swimming and climbing; this right applies to land regardless of ownership or whether or not it is in a designated or protected area such as an NSA, providing it is exercised responsibly (as defined by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code).[13]

List of national scenic areas

As of 2020 there were 40 national scenic areas:[1]

Name Photo Land
area (ha)[4]		 Marine
area (ha)[4]		 Total
area (ha)[4]		 Local Authorities with areas inside NSA[4]
Assynt-Coigach86,53943,285129,824Highland
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe90,3341,94492,278Highland/Argyll and Bute/Perth and Kinross
Cairngorm Mountains65,541065,541Highland/Aberdeenshire/Moray (also within Cairngorms National Park)
Cuillin Hills22,7264,59427,320Highland
Deeside and Lochnagar39,787039,787Aberdeenshire/Angus (also within Cairngorms National Park)
Dornoch Firth11,5424,24015,782Highland
East Stewartry Coast8,4471,1739,620Dumfries and Galloway
Eildon and Leaderfoot3,87703,877Scottish Borders
Fleet Valley5,3734815,854Dumfries and Galloway
Glen Affric18,837018,837Highland
Glen Strathfarrar4,02704,027Highland
Hoy and West Mainland16,4797,92824,407Orkney Islands
Jura21,0729,24530,317Argyll and Bute
Kintail16,0701,07917,149Highland
Knapdale20,82112,01132,832Argyll and Bute
Knoydart40,20110,49550,696Highland
Kyle of Tongue21,0933,39624,488Highland
Kyles of Bute4,7231,0165,739Argyll and Bute
Loch Lomond28,077028,077Argyll and Bute/Stirling/West Dunbartonshire (also within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park)
Loch na Keal, Isle of Mull13,50730,74244,250Argyll and Bute
Loch Rannoch and Glen Lyon48,625048,625Perth and Kinross/Stirling
Loch Shiel13,045013,045Highland
Loch Tummel9,01309,013Perth and Kinross
Lynn of Lorn5,63810,08815,726Argyll and Bute
Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan17,22019,73636,956Highland
North Arran20,3606,94327,304North Ayrshire
Nith Estuary14,3102814,337Dumfries and Galloway
North West Sutherland23,4153,15126,565Highland
River Earn (Comrie to St. Fillans)3,10803,108Perth and Kinross
River Tay (Dunkeld)5,70805,708Perth and Kinross
Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs 2,1394,4026,542Argyll and Bute
Shetland15,48626,34741,833Shetland Islands
Small Isles16,27130,96447,235Highland
South Lewis, Harris and North Uist112,30190,087202,388Western Isles
South Uist Machair6,2897,02513,314Western Isles
St Kilda8656,1016,966Western Isles
The Trossachs4,85004,850Stirling (also within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park)
Trotternish6,1281,7897,916Highland
Upper Tweeddale12,770012,770Scottish Borders
Wester Ross143,88119,574163,456Highland

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "National Scenic Areas". NatureScot. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Countryside and Landscape in Scotland - National Scenic Areas". Scottish Government. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "National Scenic Areas Review" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "National Scenic Areas - Maps". SNH. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 "The special qualities of the national scenic areas" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Scots want their scenic landscapes better protected". National Trust for Scotland. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "History Leading to the Cairngorms National Park". Cairngorms National Park Authority. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "National Park". NatureScot. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  9. 1 2 "National Scenic Areas: background, guidance and policy". NatureScot. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Public Petitions Committee: Official Report". Scottish Parliament. 14 September 2017. pp. 1–13. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Development management and National Scenic Areas". NatureScot. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "National Scenic Areas (NSAs)". Dumfries and Galloway council. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Scottish Outdoor Access Code" (PDF). www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot. Scottish Natural Heritage. 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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