An Cliseam or Clisham

Scotland moved a step closer to gaining its third national park with a vote in favour of the move by inhabitants of Harris.

The southern half of Scotland’s largest island, Harris and Lewis, is being proposed as the site of a new national park. Residents of the area were consulted and the results released this week.

About 1,450 ballot papers were distributed and, of the 1,041 returned, almost three-quarters gave the idea a thumbs-up, with 730 in favour and 311 against.

The establishment of Harris as a national park would, its protagonists say, boost tourism and protect its environment while providing jobs and protection for the area’s culture.

Opponents say making Harris a national park would increase both bureaucracy and the price of houses on the Hebridean island.

An Cliseam or Clisham is Harris’s highest peak, at 799m (2,621ft), and is the highest point in the Outer Hebrides. The corbett, which is also a marilyn, lies in North Harris, 2km north of Loch a’ Mhorghain, on the A859.

Harris is the more mountainous of the two areas making up the island, with more than 30 tops above 300m (1,000ft). The whole of Lewis and Harris has just short of 20,000 residents, but only 2,000 or so live in Harris. So a Harris national park would have the lowest population of any in Britain.

Scotland’s existing national parks are the Cairngorms, covering 3,800 sq km and looking to grow even bigger, and Loch Lomond and the Trossochs, about half the size. The Harris park would cover only about 500 sq km.

The results of the Harris poll will now be considered by Scottish Natural Heritage and put to the Scottish Parliament.