Anger and frustration over Galloway national park plan

Denise Brownlee and Liz Hitschmann, who both live in Gatehouse of Fleet, started the campaign against having a national park in Galloway.

It has become a strong and vocal opposition.

They said the roads infrastructure needed to be upgraded first before encouraging more visitors.

They highlighted the fact that if the A75 – which brings traffic from the ferry terminals at Cairnryan across Dumfries and Galloway to Gretna – is closed, HGVs are diverted through narrow roads and villages.

Soaring house prices and low-paying jobs in the service industry are also of concern.

Ms Brownlee said: “Having lived and worked in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, I’ve seen damage to the area and nature. I don’t want that happening here.

“I don’t want the kids’ only prospects to be making coffees or beds up. If we had the infrastructure sorted, we could have businesses coming in on the back of that.”

The Scottish NFU has announced that it is actively against a park being established in Galloway.

South West Scotland is the biggest dairy farming area in Scotland.

There are almost 180 herds in Dumfries and Galloway, ranging in size from 60 cows to more than 1,000.

Farms are a place of work, the home and the future for the next generation, making it a personal debate for many in the sector.