Nature Conservation (Hansard, 18 January 1985)

§ Mr. Ancram

The text of the letter is as follows:

Ian Presst Esq.,

Director,

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,

The Lodge,

Sandy,

Bedfordshire

SG19 2DL

27 September 1984

Thank you for your letter of 7 September about nature conservation in Scotland.

while the Secretary of State welcomes the work of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and their support of conservation issues generally, he is unable to accept your charge that Scottish Ministers do not give it adequate support in Scotland. Mr. Younger and his colleagues give particular consideration to nature conservation issues. They have supported the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which apply both north and south of the border, and they operate special arrangements, as described in the national planning guidelines 246W —to which there is no English equivalent-which ensure that planning issues affecting the scientific interest of land may be brought to their attention.

The Secretary of State was happy to note you recognition that conservation is not the only issue which he has to take into account in arriving at decisions on land use. He appreciates that some specific decisions may not meet with the Society's approval, perhaps because with their specialised remit they may not generally be aware of all the ramifications of the other issues involved and, of course, because they have no statutory responsibility to ensure that an equitable decision is reached taking account of all the issues.

Comparisons between England and Scotland can sometimes overlook the widely differing circumstances, geographical, social and economic, and in particular the high proportion of Scotland which is remote countryside. In these areas, which often contain economically fragile communities, nature conservation is not always seen as being at the same risk as in the more intensely developed areas of the country; and in these circumstances any attitude which accords an overriding priority to the scientific interest of land without regard to the economic interests of the area is not necessarily in the best interests of nature conservation, nor of the local communities. The Secretary of State feels sure that you will appreciate the force of this argument. He considers that, while difficult decisions have to be made which cannot fully satisfy all the interests concerned, there is room in the remote areas of Scotland both for the maintenance of the local economy and for the protection of wildlife. He believes there is room for improvement in the presentation of the need for nature conservation particularly to land users and the inhabitants of the areas of special interest, whose goodwill at the end of the day is essential to any continuing successful programme of conservation. This is, of course, among the functions of the Nature Conservancy Council, but he believes that there is also an important role for the voluntary sector represented by such bodies as the RSPB.

As you may know, there has already been a meeting at Ministerial level last month, when the Minister of State met your Scottish chairman. If you feel that a further meeting would be helpful, I shall be happy to put you in touch with the appropriate Scottish Office official.

J. S. Graham,

Private Secretary