Sub-Regional Forest Planning Themes
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August 2009 A project for Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) Evaluation of the Land Use Strategy (LUS) Forestry Focussed Sub- Regional Pilot Studies Final Report 27th March 2015 Collingwood Environmental Planning Limited Final Report March 2015 Project title: Evaluation of the Land Use Strategy (LUS) Forestry Focussed Sub-Regional Pilot Studies Contracting organisation: Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) Contractor: Collingwood Environmental Planning Limited (CEP) Lead details: Head office: Address: 1E The Chandlery, 50 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7QY Contact: Ric Eales (Project Director) Tel. 020 7407 8700 Fax. 020 7928 6950 Email: [email protected] Website: www.cep.co.uk Scottish office: Address: c/o Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Level 5, James Weir Building, 75 Montrose Street, Glasgow G1 1XJ Contact: Dr Peter Phillips (Project Manager) Tel. 0141 416 8700 Email: [email protected] Report details: Report title: Final Report Date issued: 27th March 2015 Version no.: 2 Author(s): Dr Peter Phillips, Paula Orr and Rolands Sadauskis Reviewed by: Ric Eales Evaluation of the LUS Forestry Focussed Collingwood Environmental Planning Sub-Regional Pilot Studies 1 Final Report March 2015 Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 3 1.1 Objectives of the evaluation ........................................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Purpose and contents of this Final Report ................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Context for the evaluation ........................................................................................................................... 4 2. Methodology ........................................................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction to the sub-regional pilots ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 The overall approach ................................................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Data collection methods used in the evaluation ....................................................................................... 13 2.4 Data analysis methods used in the evaluation .......................................................................................... 15 2.5 The evaluation framework ......................................................................................................................... 16 3. Identifying themes for sub-regional forest planning ............................... 18 3.1 Sub-regional forest planning themes ......................................................................................................... 18 3.2 Sub-regional forest planning themes – relevance to the pilots ................................................................. 19 3.3 Sub-regional forest planning themes – relevance to stakeholders ........................................................... 22 4. Cowal pilot – summary of evaluation results.......................................... 25 4.1 Processes followed in the development of the Cowal pilot ...................................................................... 25 4.2 Integration of LUS Principles in the Cowal pilot framework ...................................................................... 28 4.3 The Cowal pilot’s influence on local level land use decision-making ........................................................ 29 4.4 Costs and benefits of the Cowal pilot ........................................................................................................ 30 4.5 Strengths and weaknesses of the Cowal pilot ........................................................................................... 30 5. Dumfries and Galloway pilot – summary of evaluation results ............... 34 5.1 Processes followed in the development of the Dumfries and Galloway pilot ........................................... 34 5.2 Integration of LUS Principles in the Dumfries and Galloway pilot framework .......................................... 37 5.3 The Dumfries and Galloway pilot’s influence on local level land use decision-making ............................. 39 5.4 Costs and benefits of the Dumfries and Galloway pilot ............................................................................. 39 5.5 Strengths and weaknesses of the Dumfries and Galloway pilot ................................................................ 40 6. Flow Country pilot – summary of evaluation results .............................. 42 6.1 Processes followed in the development of the Flow Country pilot ........................................................... 42 6.2 Integration of LUS Principles in the Flow Country pilot framework .......................................................... 47 6.3 The Flow Country pilot’s influence on local level land use decision-making ............................................. 48 6.4 Costs and benefits of the Flow Country pilot ............................................................................................. 48 6.5 Strengths and weaknesses of the Flow Country pilot ................................................................................ 49 7. Synthesis and conclusions ...................................................................... 52 7.1 Synthesis of key findings ............................................................................................................................ 52 7.2 National level policy opportunities and issues .......................................................................................... 54 7.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................ 56 Appendix 1: Criteria for document review ................................................... 58 Appendix 2: Pre-determined codes used in analysis ..................................... 59 Appendix 3: Criteria to help identify integration of LUS Principles ............... 61 Appendix 4: Sub-regional forest planning themes – pilot data ..................... 67 Appendix 5: Sub-regional forest planning themes – stakeholder data .......... 68 Appendix 6: Cowal pilot Evaluation Question No.2 detailed analysis ........... 70 Appendix 7: D&G pilot Evaluation Question No.2 detailed analysis ............. 81 Appendix 8: Flow Country pilot Evaluation Question No.2 detailed analysis 92 Evaluation of the LUS Forestry Focussed Collingwood Environmental Planning Sub-Regional Pilot Studies 2 Final Report March 2015 1. Introduction Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) commissioned Collingwood Environmental Planning (CEP) Limited to undertake the Evaluation of the Land Use Strategy (LUS) Forestry Focussed Sub-Regional Pilot Studies. The sub-regional pilots were a direct recommendation from the 2012 Woodland Expansion Advisory Group (WEAG) report1, as explained further at section 1.3. The evaluation was undertaken between July 2014 and February 2015. This is the Final Report of the evaluation project. 1.1 Objectives of the evaluation The objectives for the evaluation are set out in Box 1 below. These objectives were agreed with the FCS Project Manager during the early stages of the project. The overall aim of the evaluation project is to inform future policy and practice in sub-regional forest planning, supporting the strategic objectives of Scotland’s Land Use Strategy – the LUS2. Box 1. Objectives of the evaluation 1. To examine and evidence the processes that helped shape each pilot project 2. To assess and examine each pilot in terms of its potential ability to guide local level land use decision- making to help meet the overall objectives of the LUS 3. To provide evidence on whether the pilot projects have influenced local level land use decision- making to help meet the overall objectives of the LUS 4. To provide evidence and views from responsible organisations and stakeholders in the pilot areas on whether the benefits of the pilots justify the costs and resources required for their development 5. To identify strengths, weaknesses and good-practice in the pilot frameworks 1.2 Purpose and contents of this Final Report This is the Final Report of the FCS commissioned Evaluation of the Land Use Strategy (LUS) Forestry Focussed Sub-Regional Pilot Studies. It is intended to provide a comprehensive report of the evaluation project’s main findings as well as details of the methodological approach adopted. The Final Report is structured as follows: Chapter 1 – Introduction: Outlines the aims and objectives of the project and sets the context for the evaluation, especially in terms of the key policies that influence forest planning and development and land use more generally in Scotland. Chapter 2 – Methodology: Describes the methodology adopted for the project including details of the evaluation framework and the specific research questions considered. Chapter 3 – Identifying themes for sub-regional forest planning: Introduces the nineteen sub-regional forest planning themes identified through the evaluation and discusses their relevance for the three pilots and for the different forest planning stakeholders engaged in the evaluation. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 – Pilot specific summaries of evaluation results: Summarises