Reminder about opportunity to lodge interest in your area becoming Scotland’s newest National Park

The Chair of The Highland Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Ken Gowans is reminding people of the pre-registration process for areas that wish to be nominated as a new National Park.

In May the Scottish Government and NatureScot issued a call for expressions of interest. Communities across Scotland are being asked to consider whether their local area could be designated as the country’s newest national park

Cllr Ken Gowans said: “The government has committed to designating at least one new national park in Scotland by Spring 2026.

“At a recent meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee we homologated our response to the Scottish Government on the appraisal framework and the proposed nomination process.

“This opportunity is open to all geographic areas, so we are reminding individuals, groups or organisations considering making a proposal that they still have time to pre-register their interest.” 

Pre-registration will enable interested parties to be updated by Scottish Government on important information, key dates and communications and to enable Scottish Government to contract interested parties about the offer of support that will be made available during the nomination process.

Cllr Gowans added: “Although there is no requirement to register interest in order to submit a nomination there are clearly benefits in doing so, especially in relation to being made aware of the support that is available.”

Full details on the draft appraisal framework that outlines the criteria to be used to assess nominations and how to register can be found by visiting

https://www.gov.scot/news/next-steps-for-national-parks-in-scotland/