Jane Hope: "Special place"

A chief executive has been appointed to lead the Cairngorms National Park Authority as it comes into being later this year.

Jane Hope will fill the post on an interim basis, a task she performed in 2002 for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

The Cairngorms park will be the second of its kind in Scotland and the biggest in the UK, stretching from Grantown-on-Spey in the north to the Angus Glens and the Drumochter hills.

Ms Hope, a career civil servant, said: "The Cairngorms area is one of Scotland's most special places.

She said: "An early priority will be meeting all those with an interest and a contribution to make and I will be setting up a programme for that shortly."

'Vital experience'

As part of the process, the work programme and staff of the Cairngorms Partnership, excluding its chief executive Stewart Fulton, will transfer into the new park authority.

Mr Fulton, who is due to retire in the summer, said: "The experience Jane brings from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs will be vital to success."

The Cairngorms authority will be formally established on 25 March with the first board meeting on 15 April, when a convener and deputy convener will be appointed.

The board assumes full operational powers on 1 September.