The Merkland Land Management Plan (LMP) comprises a woodland on the southern and eastern slopes of Goatfell. It provides a backdrop to Brodick on the isle of Arran and has a major impact in the view from the ferry on arrival to the island.

We are developing this land management plan to detail our proposals for management of the area over the next ten years. Draft versions of the plan will be published here and we invite comments and feedback from the public on all of our proposals.

Consultation

This first round of public consultation will be carried out via Storymaps, an interactive web-based platform with the opportunity to fill in comments on a Google Form. Public participation will be via a drop in event with details of date(s) and times to be published in the local press. Please use the link below to access Storymaps and use the Form (see Public consultation section) to comment. Additional queries and comments can be directed to the email address provided below.

It is important that we understand why this area is important to the local community.  Consultation with stakeholders (including the local community) is a requirement of the land management planning process, but it is also a valuable opportunity for Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) to engage with the public, talk about our work, and discover what’s important to you.

A public drop-in event will be held on Wednesday 28th June 2023 at Arran Library and Brodick Hall, Brodick, KA27 8DL (///smarter.solicitor.spelling) between 1.00 and 5.00pm.  This is an opportunity to meet FLS staff, find out our plans, and most importantly to share your thoughts with us.

If you are unable to join us, you can still share your views via the link in the Storymaps.

This page will be updated frequently but please don’t hesitate to request any other information.

Timeline

• Spring 2021: Initial concept of plan
• Autumn 2021: First round of public consultation and development of draft plan
• Summer 2023: Second round of public consultation - Drop in event and online Google Form
• Autumn 2023: Development of final plans
• Winter 2023: Submission to Scottish Forestry

Documents and maps

• Land management plan brief (PDF) - identifies key factors that will influence the forest design.
• Storymap - identifies the influences on this plan, the concepts and our key objectives for the area.
• Historical environment records (PDF)

• Key features map (PDF)
• Concept map (PDF)
• Location map (PDF)
• Current woodland composition map (PDF)
• Soils map (PDF)
• Forest gales map (PDF)
• Landscape map (PDF)
• Heritage map (PDF)
• Visitor zones map (PDF)