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The park, which is home to Arthur’s Seat, a small Edinburgh mountain which attracts countless visitors to perch, like birds, at its height and enjoy the dramatic scenery, has appeared in film and television, and was was the focus earlier this year in the popular series, Un Dydd. It has been estimated that it is worth £1.8 billion a year to the city.
For the people of Edinburgh, the plan states, it also represents significant benefits. Rarely, in a city, is it possible to enjoy such a rugged outdoor environment.
Alison Turnbull, HES Director of External Relations and Partnerships, described the park as having “tremendous value”. “Although it is already very significant, there is still untapped potential to enhance its benefits for people, nature and heritage.”
But a key question as to whether there would be more closure of the road that runs through the park to cars remains unanswered.
Following the announcement of the strategy by site owners Historic Enrivonment Scotland, Scottish Green MSP Lorna Slater posted on X: “We believe that road closures make the park a safer and more pleasant place to visit. We would also like to see the park prioritize nature and wildlife while reducing our carbon emissions.”
Arthur’s seat (Image: Historic Environment Scotland)
The new Strategic Plan also defines the purpose of the park, listing seven key principles. Among these are that it will “put people first”; “strengthen climate action and resilience”, and “be guided by nature”.
But Holyrood Park is also a site of increasing human impact. The key challenges facing the park are the listed plan, climate change, growth in the number of users, declining water habits and quality, natural regeneration and recolonisation, a severely degraded trail network, and traffic management conflicts.
It has a number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, but all of these are in an “unfavourable” state. One of the aims of the plan is to establish baseline monitoring of biodiversity.
It is also a site which, with so many visitors, estimated at “many millions”, has to deal with regular health and safety issues and which records more incidents than any other HES-held property. In 2023 the Ranger Team was involved in over 314 incidents, including “missing people, fires, graffiti, rockfalls, vandalism, suicide threats, park user disputes, property damage, drug use, as well as accidents vehicles and cycling” .
The Strategic Plan follows an initial public consultation, which received just under 5000 responses, and raised a number of issues.
Calls for road closures
A campaign to close the park’s roads to cars has long been carried out by Car Free Holyrood. Already the road through the park and around Arthur’s Seat, Queen’s Walk, is closed at weekends, and the Great Road to Dunsapie Loch is only open from Tuesday to Thursday. Some campaigners would like to see that extended to “24/7”.
But, in the consultation, others complained about the current road closures and their impact on accessibility: “Ever since the main road to Dunsapie Loch was closed most of the time, couldn’t get elderly and disabled relatives to enjoy the beautiful scenery from that road. We are now elderly and cannot climb up there. So sad we can’t enjoy this now. This is discrimination against the elderly and disabled!”
Tension between cyclists and drivers was also described. One response to the consultation said, “I regularly encounter aggressive behavior from drivers when cycling through the Park. Holyrood Park is a site of so much historical and natural benefit to the city; it should not be used as a rat run for drivers. Please close the road.”
However, the Strategic Plan does not provide any firm guidance on this, except to emphasize “active travel” and “accessibility” as objectives. This is because the park’s ‘Mobility Strategy’ is to be developed in conjunction with Edinburgh City Council and will align with its City Mobility Plan 20303.
Opening the Radical Way
Another issue that was often mentioned by those who answered the consultation was the closure of Ffordd Radical. The report said respondents “generally saw the closure as an “overreaction” to rockfall”.
“The view that was widely expressed,” he notes, “was that people should be able to assess their own risk of using the route. It was also noted that the closure of the Radical Road route has prevented climbers from using the Salisbury Crags for recreational purposes.”
Ms Turnbull said: “Although the Plan does not deal with rock risk, specialist geotechnical engineers have completed a reassessment of risk and possible mitigation measures in relation to parts of the Radical Way and other areas. HES plans to improve access in the spring of 2025, where this can be done safely, at the southern end of the river Hawse to the northern end of South Quarry.
“This area includes Hutton’s Section and Hutton’s Rock, together with the quarry where climbing is permitted. Due to the complexity and unique nature of Holyrood Park, all proposals need to consider statutory consent and the relevant regulatory bodies must be engaged.”
Road safety
Some respondents also mentioned dangers for children and difficulty crossing the road. “My child cannot play freely. He cannot cross any of the roads alone as there are no pedestrian crossings and the drivers have priority. He is too young to understand that sometimes the roads are closed but not others so we have to have a hard and fast rule that he cannot move around freely.”
Tourists, litter and eroded footpaths
One of the concerns that was often mentioned in the consultation was the deterioration of landscape and habitat, as well as the deterioration of wildlife, which, according to the analysis, “was linked to the increase in the number of visitors to the Park”. Erosion on many of the key routes, such as those up to Sedd Arthur, was also blamed on an increase in tourism and general use of the Park.
Litter, barbecues in the summer, and dog fouling were also the subject of complaints.
“Footpaths are overused and deteriorating,” said one respondent. “Crowds of tourists climbing Arthurs Seat. Very limited access for disabled and elderly visitors.”
The Strategic Plan states that growth in the number of users, caused by an increase in Edinburgh’s population and tourist visits, is one of the key challenges for the park. This, he said, will put “pressure on services, operations (eg litter, and health and safety), paths, open spaces, habitats, and archaeological sites,” and will require significant investment.”
The path network, he said, is very degraded and “under significant pressure due to an increase in the number of users and there is extensive damage and erosion across the core of the Park with the number of users far exceeding the capacity of the existing routes”.
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What do the Scottish Greens say?
MSP Lorna Slater said: “I love Holyrood Park and as a local resident I walk and run there regularly. It is one of the most iconic sites in all of Scotland, providing peace and nature in the middle of a busy city.
“One of the things that hinders this is the huge number of cars that pass through it every day, making it less safe for the families and residents who visit it every day.
“We saw the improvement made when cars were banned from the park during the curfew, which made it feel more relaxed, and much safer.
“As the consultation and groups like Car Free Holyrood have found, by improving cycling infrastructure, widening pavements, laying paths and increasing seating and rest areas, we can make our park even more special and go to the tackling accessibility in a much greener and more sustainable way.
“During the next few weeks, I hope that the Council’s Local Access Forum will meet and have a productive conversation about the park’s strategy and how they can get involved. In November I will be holding a public meeting for all interested community members and stakeholders to come together and possibly set up a Friends group to help set the direction and priorities of Holyrood Park.”
Against a ban on cars
Neil Greig, spokesman for IAM Road Safety, said: We have always felt that there was no need to completely close the roads around the edge of Holyrood Park.
“The roads through the park add much needed additional capacity to already congested city center routes “Retaining the option to allow traffic when diversions are required would add much needed flexibility. Currently roadworks or events cause slow moving and polluting traffic to sit next to homes and businesses for hours.
“In addition, access by car is required to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the park regardless of their mobility needs.
“Traffic speeds are already low in the park and separate cycle lanes should be in place to improve enjoyment and reduce the risk to any vulnerable road users.”
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