Plea for more access resources as countryside jobs cut back
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Outdoor groups and landowners are calling for better resources to support Scotland’s "world-class" access rights.
The call comes as a new survey highlights alarming cutbacks in countryside access jobs.
Scottish Outdoor Access Network (SOAN) polled all 34 access authorities on how they manage access, a topic which has hit the headlines during the pandemic due to booming numbers of people heading outdoors.
The survey showed that during 2019/20 six local authorities did not employ a single access officer.
Across Scotland there is just the equivalent of 36.5 full-time access officers, down 27 per cent from 2015/16 and 44 per cent since 2005/6.
In addition, a third of access authorities do not directly employ any full-time countryside rangers, the frontline staff who welcome and educate visitors, and manage important sites on the ground.
SOAN believes the reduction in access-supporting jobs is symptomatic of a wider, worsening trend of under-investment in visitor management.
The group stressed that the Scottish Government’s funding for access has flatlined for more than a decade at £8.1 million a year – but said that many hard-pressed local authorities are sadly choosing to invest their access allocation on other issues.
David Henderson-Howat, convener of the National Access Forum, said: “People here are rightly proud of Scotland’s progressive access legislation. Sadly, this survey confirms our fears – expressed in a letter to the Scottish Government earlier this year – that there is an alarming downward national trend in the funding and resources needed to ensure those rights work well on the ground.”
The survey results come as increasing numbers of people are accessing the outdoors – with 80 per cent of Scots visiting the outdoors at least once a week this summer according to NatureScot, up from 64 per cent in summer 2019.
Ramblers Scotland director Brendan Paddy said: “It is good news that so many people are getting active outdoors, but we are also seeing a rising number of access issues – with too few staff to resolve them. Decision-makers must remember that access funding is a preventative spend, which keeps people healthy and addresses issues before they escalate.”
