Taynuilt community launches petition against parking charges

A Taynuilt resident has launched a petition against the introduction of car park charges at some Scottish forests after a local backlash to the introduction of fees at two nearby forests.

 

Undine Achilles-Day has lodged the petition with the Scottish Government on behalf of the Taynuilt Community Council, which has predominantly protested the charges.

 

The community's complaints have largely been concerned with the introduction of parking charges at the Fearnoch and Sutherland's Grove forests in April.

 

Visitors to the sites are asked to pay £1 to park for less than an hour and £3 for longer, with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) offering annual passes for £40 per year.

 

At the time of writing the "Abolish car parking charges for all Forestry and Land Scotland sites" petition has received 212 signatures after it was first considered on Tuesday August 29.

 

Ms Achilles-Day said: "Since the inception of Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) in April 2019 they have virtually doubled the number of locations where they charge for car parking.

 

"In almost all of these there have been no further improvements of facilities for visitors. Most of these forests are inaccessible to visitors without a car. FLS insists that walking in the woods is free however, in reality, they are adding an additional tax to our health and wellbeing.

 

She added: "This is in complete contradiction to both their stated aims and the government's policy to encourage health and wellbeing through access to our forests.

 

"In these times of financial pressure on households this is truly unacceptable. It is appropriate that the public who own the forests should have some benefits and it is only fair that free access should be an absolute right."

 

"attachment_909286" "" "300"] The entrance to the Sutherland's Grove car park. Photograph: Finn Nixon.

 

The issue of local forestry parking charges has been a much discussed issue at the Taynuilt Community Council's recent meetings, with FLS West Region's regional visitor services manager, Robbie Layden meeting with residents on June 8.

 

Previously, meeting attendees have raised concerns about how parking charges could discourage potential visitors, make access harder and impact health.

 

Mr Layden had responded by describing the financial challenges faced by FLS and the maintenance that needed to be carried out on bridges and trails at the organisation's sites.

 

In response to the petition, a FLS spokesperson said: "Forestry and Land Scotland welcomes over 10 million visitors annually and we provide over 300 destinations to visit. Access to the destinations we look after is free under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

 

"We charge a small parking fee in less than 20 per cent of our car parks as a contribution to keeping the car parks themselves and facilities at these destinations well-maintained and safe. Blue badge holders park for free at the sites where we do charge.

 

"We recognise that the introduction of parking charges has caused concerns for some communities which is why we offer money saving annual passes and still offer a wide range of free to park sites. Details of these are available on our website: forestryandland.gov.scot/visit

 

"As a public corporation, the vast majority of the work we do is self-funded through commercial activity. Car park charging contributes to our ability to keep these much-loved destinations looking their best and safe for visitors."