SIR, I’m a resident, business owner and champion of my home in Galloway, where I was born, raised, work, and where I’m now bringing up my own family.

Whilst I have travelled, the area has always been my home – I’m not sure this place ever does leave you. Its landscape and people are second to none, often pitched as Scotland’s forgotten corner, not if you’re in my company!

So why you might ask am I so opposed to a Galloway National Park?

I manage a small slither of this landscape, but it’s not because as a farmer I fear change – quite the opposite. If history tells us anything, National Parks have stifled progression and remained stuck in the past, preserving the 'here and now' and not the potential.

National Parks put areas as wonderful as ours on the map, but with that comes issues. Unfit infrastructure to cope with visitors, unaffordable and a lack of housing, more restrictive planning and puts added pressure on our health and educational services.

And whilst some will argue that Scottish Government have put a framework in place to ensure this doesn’t happen, we have received no justification on how they will ensure this or an announcement on the budget they will invest in the area – two key aspects that should have been considered before the decision was made.

The campaign for the National Park was driven by a small number of older, and many retired, residents, who have not consulted the region fully, and in my opinion, have not welcomed conflicting views. If Galloway needs this, why did they struggle to get representation from those future generations who will be impacted the most by this decision?

The announcement, whilst highlighting there will be a consultation, is clear that Galloway is the preferred region, and the consultation feels like just a tick-box exercise.

We need to make Galloway a place where people want to, and can live, not just visit. It needs sustainable investment that puts the community at the heart, and not just the environment. It needs to drive business growth, that brings with it a highly skilled workforce and increased employment opportunities.

People here feel betrayed, unheard and ignored.

Colin Ferguson,

Farmer, father and Gallovidian