Consultation on South’s land use journey to Net Zero and nature recovery
A consultation is underway on a new framework which has identified a series of land use changes in the South of Scotland that can help address the climate and biodiversity crises.
The draft Regional Land Use Framework sets out a concise vision and objectives for sustainable land use across the South.
These objectives include:
- More efficient and environmentally friendly food production that helps restore nature
- Creating more native and commercial woodland
- Peatland restoration
- Renewable energy generation.
The framework has been shaped by a series of consultation events with local people, including 30 sessions between September 2022 and March 2023, with over 500 individuals participating.
How do I provide my feedback on draft Framework?
The consultation provides an opportunity to feedback on the Framework, through an online survey which opens from Friday 1 December to Friday 23 February, as well as five consultation events across the South and online.
The consultation dates and venues are:
- Monday 11 December, Inspire Tweedbank (beside train station)
- Tuesday 12 December, Baptist Church, Dumfries
- Wednesday 17 January, Volunteer Hall, Duns
- Wednesday 31 January - online event
- Wednesday 7 February - Vaults Arts Centre, Newton Stewart
Each sessions runs from 6.30pm to 8pm.
To sign up to an event or provide feedback to the online consultation, please click here.
South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership pilot
The draft Regional Land Use Framework has been created as part of the South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) pilot, delivered through:
- Dumfries and Galloway Council
- Scottish Borders Council
- South of Scotland Enterprise
- and overseen by the Regional Economic Partnership.
The South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership is one of five pilot RLUPs chosen by the Scottish Government and has been informed by the input from many stakeholders across the region, working together to find ways to optimise land use in a fair and inclusive way.
This sets out how local and national objectives can be met, support the target of Scotland becoming Net Zero by 2045 and to help address biodiversity loss through nature recovery.
Professor Russel Griggs, Chair of SOSE, said:
“With COP28 now underway, it is timely we launch the draft Regional Land Use Framework, which considers new approaches to the way we use and manage our land in the South to address the climate and biodiversity crises.
“We have gathered the views of a great number of local people - representing a broad range of interests in land use - to provide a clear voice for the South. I would encourage local people to again provide their feedback.”
Councillor Ian Carruthers, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council's Economy and Resources Committee said:
“This is an important piece of work and to inform our decisions we need our citizens and communities to provide us with their knowledge to enable us to take this forward and ensure local voices are heard.”
Vice Chair of Economy and Resources Committee at Dumfries and Galloway Council, Councillor David Inglis, added:
“This partnership helps communities, land managers, national and local governments and stakeholders work together. We hope that people from all sectors will attend or fill in the online survey to help shape future land use in our area.”
Councillor Jenny Linehan, Scottish Borders Council's Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said:
“Over 500 people fed into the development of the draft framework and it is just as important that we receive input at this stage.
“Land use, particularly in a rural area like ours, is vital to our environmental and economic future, and getting the right balance and maximising the benefits requires collaborative work across a range of organisations, communities and landowners.”