The Countryside Commission for Scotland was a statutory body in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

that was established by the

Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

. Its role was to provide, develop and improve facilities for the enjoyment of the Scottish countryside, and to conserve and enhance the country's natural beauty. The body existed alongside the

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

, which covered England and Wales. The commission led to the establishment of Scotland's 40

National Scenic Areas National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, the

Regional Park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

s, and the formation of a countryside ranger service. It also provided individual grants to support facilities such as car parks and visitor centres. The Commission ceased to exist in 1992 when it was merged with Scottish division of the

Nature Conservancy Council The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 (it did not cover Norther ...

(NCC) to become Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH was renamed

NatureScot NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

in 2020.

References

Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1967 Government agencies disestablished in 1992 Scottish coast and countryside Nature conservation in Scotland Tourism in Scotland {{Scotland-org-stub