CAIRNGORMS

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Fig.MI.S.CA.01; Cairngorms Map

Rural Land Management - Lewis Duncan

57.25129° N, 3.74247° W

SIZE: 4,528 km²

POPULATION: 19,000

POP. DENSITY: 4.2 people/km²

URBAN CLASSIFICATION (people/km²)

HYPER URBAN AREA (≥15,000)

DENSE URBAN AREA (1,500-14,999)

URBAN CLUSTER (300-1,499)

RURAL SETTLEMENT (50-299)

SPARSE RURAL (10-49)

REMOTE (1-9)

WILDERNESS (<1)

*BASED ON DEGURBA (EU Degree of Urbanisation) DATA

KEY ISSUES

Unsustainable Import/Export Practices

Poor Land and Forest Managment

Gaps in Harvesting Capacity

Underutilised Production Potenial

Highland land management and forestry

Forest cover in Scotland has increased by 14% since 1915, from 5% to 19% of total land area. However, we have seen an increase in non-native species, such as Sitka spruce and Douglas Fir to meet our timber demands. 50% of plantation forests in the UK are Sitka spruce. This has meant a significant reduction in biodiversity in Scottish forests. Areas of the highlands, such as Cairngorms National Park are “actively looking to increase our forest cover to 35,000 hectares by 2045” and considering a “Swiss style timber industry with lots of small-scale use of woodland” within the park.

Why Boat of Garten?

When the Boat of Garten sawmill closed in 2023, the area lost over 50 direct jobs and an estimated £2.8 million in local economic activity (based on industry multipliers). This is despite the Cairngorms National Park producing 11% of Scotland’s annual softwood harvest, one of the highest outputs per capita in the UK. Today, over 65% of harvested timber in the region is exported for processing, meaning most value is added elsewhere while rural communities absorb the losses. This could be done in Boat of Garten instead.

Fig.MI.S.CA.02; Map of Cairngorms National Park, highlighting selected site

Forestry Skills & Training Gaps

Forestry supports around 8,500 jobs in the Highlands & Islands (HIE, 2023), yet specialist training remains highly centralised. Over 70% of Scotland’s accredited forestry and timber-processing courses are delivered in Inverness, the Central Belt, or online, placing a travel burden on young people in Badenoch & Strathspey, where 32% of households lack access to regular public transport (NRS, 2022).

Land Ownership & Management

Nearly half of the Highlands is owned by estates larger than 3,000 hectares, with just 12% under community ownership (Scottish Government Land Reform Unit, 2024). In Badenoch & Strathspey, over 70% of productive woodland sits within privately controlled estates, limiting coordinated long-rotation planting and shared local benefits.

Fig.MI.S.CA.04; Timber Processing in Scotland

Fig.MI.S.CA.03; Map Showing 100km radius from Boat of Garten

Social Infrastructure & Highland Isolation

Despite 82% of Highland residents reporting a strong sense of belonging (SG Social Capital Survey, 2023), social infrastructure remains limited. The region has 40% fewer civic, cultural, and training facilities per capita than the Scottish average, and over 55% of settlements lack a dedicated community learning or skills space (Highland Council Audit, 2023). For forestry and seasonal workers who often travel long distances, this increases isolation and reduces opportunities for shared learning or upskilling.

Missing Rural Production

Scotland’s forests supply 10.8 million m³ of softwood annually, but less than 20% is processed into high value timber products within the Highlands (Forestry & Land Scotland, 2023). Communities like those in Badenoch and Strathspey have the raw material and cultural ties to the industry, but lack the infrastructure, to convert logs into engineered timber components.

Fig.MI.S.CA.05, 06, 07; Cairngorms National Park