Onshore wind development regarding Galloway National Park (GNP): EIR release

Information requested

1. “How will being a GNP affect onshore wind farm development - and also associated infrastructure development such as battery storage and pylons - within the GNP boundary?”

2. “How will a GNP affect onshore wind farm development - and also associated infrastructure development such as battery storage and pylons - just outside the GNP boundary?”

3. “How will a GNP affect offshore wind farm development off the coast of the GNP boundary? Does the GNP boundary extend into the sea and if so by how far?”

4. “How will a GNP affect offshore wind farm development off the coast just outside the GNP boundary?”

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the Purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Questions 1 & 2

On 22 July 2024 the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands announced a proposal to establish a new National Park in Galloway. Further investigations into the area’s suitability will now commence. More information can be found here.

At this stage it is still a proposal. NatureScot has begun its investigation into the proposal for a new National Park in Galloway. This will involve extensive public consultation and stakeholder engagement over the coming weeks and months, including a formal 12-week public consultation starting in November 2024. Local residents, communities, businesses, public bodies and other interested parties including representatives from the agriculture, forestry and other land-based sectors in the area will be invited to get involved and share their views on whether Galloway should become a new national park and where the boundary for the new park should be drawn. 

In regards to onshore wind development the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) published on 13 February 2023 signals the key priorities for ‘where’ and ‘what’ development should take place at a national level and is combined with national planning policy on ‘how’ development planning should manage change. NPF4 places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and makes clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including energy storage, such as battery storage, transmission and distribution infrastructure and ensures that potential impacts on our communities and natural assets, including cumulative impacts, are important considerations in the decision-making process. I would also highlight that all applications would be subject to site specific assessment(s).

NPF4 policy 11b) sets out that development proposals for wind farms in National Parks and National Scenic Areas will not be supported. NPF4 policies should be read as a whole and it is for the decision maker to determine what weight to attach to policies on a case by case basis. Where a policy states that development will, or will not be supported, it is in principle, and it is for the decision maker to take into account all other relevant policies.

To ensure any new National Park addresses the climate emergency and supports progressive development, the Scottish Government has signalled that it will develop new bespoke planning policy on onshore wind to be applied in any new National Park. This means that a new National Park may be treated differently to existing National Parks with respect to NPF4 policy for onshore wind.

Questions 3 & 4

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as the boundary of the proposed Galloway National Park based on the joint proposal from the Galloway National Park Association and the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO biosphere extends to the coast only and not into the sea. Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

As highlighted in our response for Question 1 above at this stage the Galloway National Park is still a proposal and NatureScot has begun its investigation into said proposal. This will involve extensive public consultation and stakeholder engagement and will invite Local residents, communities, businesses, public bodies and other interested parties to share their views on the proposal including where the boundary for the new park should be drawn.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document. Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.