Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 September 2020
I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate on tackling dirty camping. This is only our second members’ business debate since March, and I congratulate Mr Fraser on securing it.
Dirty camping has become a big issue for Scotland’s rural communities, including in my South Scotland region, since the lockdown restrictions were eased on 15 July. I restate that the debate is not about wild camping, which Mr Fraser ably described; it is about dirty camping.
The rise in the number of people taking staycation holidays in Scotland is welcome. Supporting our local economy, our small and medium-sized tourism businesses and villages and towns throughout Scotland’s rural areas is welcome. However, when enjoying staycations, and particularly when camping, people must respect our natural environment and be familiar with the Scottish outdoor access code. It was interesting to hear in the minister’s response to questions in the chamber earlier today that more than a quarter of a million people have accessed the outdoor access code online since lockdown.
In Dumfries and Galloway, we have seen a number of unfortunate incidents involving a small minority of visitors who do not respect the local area, our natural environment or the staff and volunteers who look after our areas of fantastic natural beauty. That has been a major issue in the area around Loch Ken near Castle Douglas, which Mr Carson also mentioned—the members of the Loch Ken Trust have obviously contacted us both.
When I met Loch Ken Trust members—outdoors, in a socially distanced way—with my colleague Councillor Dougie Campbell, we heard about their problems and experience. It was troubling to hear about the verbal abuse experienced by volunteers, fishing-permit staff and members of the community when they attempted to support and help visitors to find the optimal way to enjoy the beauty of our area. One staff member was threatened with physical abuse and, as I mentioned, other volunteers were verbally abused. That is not acceptable.
In recent weeks, I have raised the issue of fly camping—now widely known as dirty camping—with the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Dumfries and Galloway Council and Police Scotland to seek a positive way forward as soon as possible.
The constituents I engaged with from the Loch Ken Trust have some key asks of the Scottish Government, the local authority, the police and other agencies. They are interested to know whether the Scottish Government can provide a pathway that would allow local police divisions to supply community organisations’ staff and volunteers from our areas with a radio link that would connect them to the police, allowing easier quick contact. They are interested in whether the Scottish Government can offer de-escalation training to community groups and staff to help them address challenging or aggressive behaviour, providing those individuals with the confidence to better deal with adverse situations that may arise. They are also interested in whether funding can be offered to those who are entrusted with looking after our areas of natural beauty so that they can buy equipment such as body cameras—