Category: Loch Lomond and Trossachs

February 29, 2024 Nick Kempe 1 comment

Following the post from Lynne Somerville of the Balloch and Haldane Community Council about the proposed Vale of Leven windfarm in December (see here),  I am very pleased to be able to report that Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) staff recommended (see here) to their Planning Committee on Monday that they should…

February 28, 2024 Nick Kempe 6 comments

The current position ” Risks associated with reinstatement of the Cairngorm funicular railway were addressed through robust internal and external governance and project management”  (HIE Annual Report 2022-23 as laid before the Scottish Government in October). There was no public news release but last week Highlands and Islands Enterprise let it be known through the…

February 24, 2024 Nick Kempe 3 comments

On 24th November Pitcher Partners, a company based in Western Australia, were appointed administrators for Scotgold Resources and its subsidiaries which operate in Scotland, SGZ Cononish, which operates the Cononish goldmine and its exploratory company SGZ Grampian.  Two weeks ago a reader pointed me to information about two meetings Pitcher Partners held with creditors of…

February 19, 2024 Geoff Riddington 5 comments

In December the Planning Committee of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) unanimously approved the planning application by Mr and Mrs Young to build a luxury holiday lodge on Inchconnachan (see here  for committee report). Initially the application had included a proposal, based on advice from NatureScot, to remove the wallabies from…

February 10, 2024 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Following Peter Page’s post on 18th January (see here) showing the consequences of the failure to provide basic visitor infrastructure at Rowardennan below Ben Lomond , on 6th February the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) published a notice on the Public Contracts Scotland portal (see here).  This showed the LLTNPA had awarded…

February 5, 2024 Nick Kempe 3 comments

There appears to have been no public news about what has been happening at the Cononish goldmine since its owner, Scotgold Resources, went into administration on 24th November.  Following my post of 18th December (see here), which described some of the pollutions incidents that had taken place earlier this year and my efforts to bring…

January 15, 2024 Nick Kempe 6 comments

Soon after suggesting that sporting estates managed for grouse pose the greater threat to access rights because of their concerted attempts to make people “keep to the path”  (see here), I came across this salutary reminder that some deer stalking estates are still ignoring the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC). One of the primary meanings…

December 20, 2023 Nick Kempe 5 comments

The Balloch and Haldane Community Council, who resigned en masse after backing the Flamingo Land development, is back up and running again with new people. That is a very good thing for the local community and Parkswatch is pleased to support their work by featuring this article by Lynne Somerville, their vice-chairperson, which is also…

December 19, 2023 Professor Douglas C MacMillan 14 comments

Restoring Scotland’s natural woodland cover and biodiversity from centuries of over grazing is an urgent and necessary step towards sustainable management and care for our hills and mountains.  Woodland regeneration could, within decades, extend throughout the uplands allowing a natural woodland mosaic to develop, increasing biodiversity while protecting and enhancing the terrestrial carbon cycles.  The…

December 18, 2023 Nick Kempe 3 comments

The publication date of the April Monitoring report of the Cononish goldmine is given on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA)as 26th October (see here), four days before the Planning Committee Meeting on 30th October (see here) which considered and then “noted” the “annual report” on the mine. There was absolutely no…

December 16, 2023 Nick Kempe 7 comments

The Scottish Government’s consultation on Tackling the Nature Emergency (see here) closed on Thursday. It is yet another consultation that will have consumed vast amounts of time and energy but is unlikely to change much. This post considers some of the key reasons why the Scottish Government’s proposals for nature restoration won’t work.  A second…

December 8, 2023 Nick Kempe 4 comments

The Scottish Government’s consultation on “Tackling the Nature Emergency: Scotland’s Strategic Framework for Biodiversity” (see here), which was launched in September and includes proposals to reform Scotland’s National Parks, closes on 14th December. To date I have only considered the Scottish Government’s undemocratic proposal to increase Ministerial control over appointments to National Park board appointments…

November 30, 2023 Nick Kempe 3 comments

Ostensibly the law governing public authorities in Scotland requires them to operate in an open and transparent manner.  The Freedom of Information Act required public authorities to produce publication schemes, setting out what information they publish as a a matter of course (the idea being to reduce the need for formal requests for information), while…

November 23, 2023 Nick Kempe 4 comments

On 9th November, two days after Scotgold announced (see here) it had been unable to find a new investor for the Cononish goldmine and it was likely to go into administration, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) informed me their Planning Committee had noted without amendment the “annual report” on the mine….