SCOTS have been urged to have their say over plans for the country’s third national park as a consultation enters its final fortnight.

SNP Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon announced in July that Galloway had beaten bids from the Scottish Borders, Lochaber, Loch Awe and Tay Forest to become the preferred location for the new park.

Government agency NatureScot then launched a community consultation on the far-reaching proposals, with the deadline for responses falling on February 14.

Urging locals to take part, Galloway National Park Association chairman Rob Lucas argued the park could play “hugely positive role” in building a future for “our wildlife, countryside, communities, families and economy.”

He warned that the region “risks further decline” without it.

Unconvinced, No Galloway National Park co-founder Denise Brownlee branded the consultation format “a farce.”

Ahead of their protest outside Dumfries and Galloway Council on Wednesday as it considers its own consultation response, Ms Brownlee added: “The public are being asked their views on information which is severely lacking in detail.

“From the very beginning, we questioned why a national park was being proposed before completing a thorough and independent review on the success of those already in existence.”