I was pleased to be quoted in Sunday Herald article “Call for crackdown on unregulated Scottish hill tracks” (see here) which was published at the weekend. The article contains some very interesting quotes from the the landowner and owner of the Glen Clova hotel, Hugh Niven, about the apparently unlawful road which is now…
Tag: renewables
Following the great rainstorm of 5th August, which swept away part of the West Highland Line, I was expecting to find significant damage to the seven hydro roads in Glen Falloch when I visited at the end of September. In the event found that the damage which the storm caused to the hillsides, in…
Back in February 2018 Parkswatch called for the Cairngorms National Park Authority to start taking enforcement action against the unlawful hill roads in Glen Clova (see here). The CNPA responded to say that in most of the cases it was unable, whatever it thought of the roads, to do so. This was either because…
In my last post on Glen Falloch (see here) I considered the impact that the very heavy rainfall of 5th August had had on the hydro intake pools. I argued that the serious infilling and damage in some cases appears to be a fundamental design flaw which results from schemes being constructed in unsuitable places. …
Ever since the storm which swept away part of the West Highland Line on 5th August I had been wondering what impact this had had on the hydro schemes there. I had been expecting it would have caused significant erosion of the hydro tracks, but never anticipated its impact on the hydro intakes. The extent…
A number of people have been asking me about what is happening with the seven Glen Etive Hydro schemes which were approved by the full Highland Council in March. Until last month, it was difficult to answer. There had been no reports of activity on the ground and no further information had been added to…
I have been thinking and discussing with various contacts the claim by James Stuart, convener of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, that it conducts a risk based approach to planning enforcement (see here). The evidence from the Donich Water hydro scheme, situated above Lochgoilhead, which I visited earlier this year, suggests the…
The night before going on holiday a couple of weeks ago, I was on the Question and Answer Panel organised by Patagonia following the showing of their fantastic film Blue Heart in Edinburgh (see here for film – 45 mins). The discussion (a podcast of the event is being produced) focused on the similarities and…
After my visit to the Keltie Water hydro scheme at the beginning of May (see here), I complained to the Convener of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, James Stuart, about the Park’s continued failure to address the mess left by a development which they had nominated for a Scottish Planning Quality Award. …
When blogging about the unlawful forestry no access signs on the Drummond Estate north of Callander 10 days ago (see here), I did not have time to feature what lay behind them. Nor about how the Keltie Water hydro scheme (see here) looks six months on. The new “forestry” road into Glen Chroin When…
The Scottish Parliament has been a target for Climate Change protesters, including ‘Extinction Rebellion’, while school children have been taking days off school to protest. It’s big news and rightfully so with the future of our planet and even our very existence at stake. The Scottish Government have declared a ‘Climate Emergency’ and vowed to…
Last week the full Highland Council decided to approve the remaining three Glen Etive hydro schemes (see here). It was clear during the debate that a number of Councillors voted for the proposals because they believed the impacts of construction could be mitigated and the landscape restored to close to its existing state. While that…
A lot has happened since my posts last month on the Glen Etive hydro schemes (see here) and (here). For almost the first time in Scotland hydro schemes are being subject to detailed scrutiny by locally elected members, informed by their knowledge and skills and the considerable public debate that has been taking place. This…
The revised Planning Application for the Ben More Hydro scheme (see here) is to be considered by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Planning Committee tomorrow (see here). I had intended to speak to my objection but have been called elsewhere. While there are provisions for objectors to nominate substitutes, there are none to allow…
I had walked up Glen Prosen a couple of weeks ago to look at the new roads at the head of the Glen but was prompted by the 26 traps we saw to blog first on wildlife and trapping in the Cairngorms National Park (see here). This post will took at the two new roads…
Following my last post on the seven Glen Etive hydro schemes (see here) I found that Mountaineering Scotland had issued an excellent news release prior to the site visit by Councillors on Monday (see here). This does not appear to have been picked up by the mainstream media. What did get coverage in the Press and…
I was up on Ben Ledi on a fine day just before Xmas and my walk got me thinking about the cumulative impact of the new run of river hydro schemes. There are three on the flanks of Ben Ledi: Gleannn Casaig to the West, Stank Glen to the north east and Milton Glen to…
Following my critique of the proposed Allt Mheuran hydro scheme, this post takes a look at a further three of the hydro schemes proposed for Glen Etive which I walked around on 21st December. Allt Fhaolain The Allt Fhaolain is the second hydro scheme in Glen Etive where Highland Council required the developer to submit…
Following my post (see here) on the revisions to the Glen Etive hydro schemes, on the shortest day I went to take a closer look to compare what is being proposed compared with what is on the ground. I walked over the land included in four of the seven schemes, including the two subject to new…
A classic way to get developments through the planning system under the radar is to advertise them just before Xmas. The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority did just that on Friday when it issued a letter (see here) to people who had objected to the Ben More hydro scheme stating that the planning…
Notifications that two of the Glen Etive hydro applications had been withdrawn were issued by Highland Council last week but, before anyone celebrates, they have been replaced with new applications for the Allt Mheuran and the Allt Fhaolain. That re-starts the whole planning process. If you objected first time round, that objection is no longer…
Four more hydro schemes are being proposed in one of the most special parts of Scotland which, if it were anywhere else in the world, be a National Park. Unlike the proposed schemes in Glen Etive (see here), which I hope to post more on soon, these schemes have so far received little attention…
“An Amenity Notice is used where the condition of land is having an adverse effect on the wider public amenity of the area. For the reporting period of the PPF [Planning Performance Framework] , the case in question related to…………Killin – and prior to that we have also used this notice to good effect at…
Last week I wrote to Charlotte Wright, Chief Executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, welcoming HIE’s recognition of the need for investment in new ski infrastructure at Cairn Gorm but suggesting it was now time for them to step aside and let others develop a new plan. Unfortunately HIE’s pronouncements about their new vision for…
Recent news stories (above and here) about community financing of renewables and the benefits which may be derived from them should not be allowed to conceal what is going on across Scotland and in our National Parks. The primary driving force behind the development of renewables is profit for the few and within the overall…