SUPERFAST broadband, a range of new walking routes and restoring peatlands have been unveiled as part of wide-ranging plans to improve Scotland's largest national park.

Proposals for the Cairngorms National Park include increasing woodland and investing in walking routes on Deeside and Speyside.

The five-year plan also would also see action to improve natural habitats across the park for the benefit of local communities and visitor, as well as the plants and animals which depend upon them.

Red deer management policies will also be stepped up in order to ensure overgrazing does not undermine habitats or freshly-planted woodland.

The proposal will be considered by the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (CNPA) board before going to the Scottish government for approval.

The 4,528 sq km park covers parts of the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Perthshire and is twice the size of the Lake District National Park and bigger than the whole of Luxembourg.

A target to have 200 new affordable homes built by 2022 and delivering superfast broadband to "hard to reach" parts of the park has also been announced.

The proposal will be considered by the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (CNPA) board before going to the Scottish government for approval.

Grant Moir, the CNPA's chief executive, said: "There has been an incredible amount of work gone into developing the next National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) - not only from our staff but from all the partners who have contributed and of course the public who took the time to respond to last year's consultation."

He added: "I think that the NPPP addresses a lot of the concerns and comments that were fed back to us and I think we are setting the park on the right course with a good balance between conservation, visitor experience and rural development.

"It is of course for the board to decide on the 7 April if it is the right direction, with the final say resting with ministers."

A significant proportion of the National Park is made up by the Mar Lodge Estate, which at 29,000 hectares is the National Trust for Scotland’s (NTS) largest property.

Stuart Brooks, NTS Head of Natural Heritage Policy, said: “We welcome the ambition of the Cairngorms National Park as set out in their draft Partnership Plan to improve the condition of habitats through deer management and other means.

“Red Deer are a vitally important component of the Cairngorms economy and its ecosystems and both can benefit through collaboration by landowners.

“The National Trust for Scotland, and other landowners, have made substantial progress already in restoring native woodlands over large areas by reducing deer densities.

"We hope this plan will help to encourage further expansion of native woodlands in the Park.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, Chair of the LINK Deer Task Force added: "We welcome the CNPA's step in the right direction to promote sustainable deer management in one of Scotland's most outstanding areas for wildlife.

"This supports the CNPA’s statutory objectives, which include the sustainable use of natural resources and the conservation of the natural heritage.

"Public interest objectives such as restoration of protected areas and expansion of native woodland should be a priority in the Park and sustainable economic activity and community resilience should benefit from this."