[Postscript – Good News! An hour or so after this was published the CNPA Planning Committee rejected this Planning Application by two votes! Well done them and what a contrast to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority where Board Members rubber stamp whatever is recommended by officers. What the CNPA now needs to…
Author: Nick Kempe
Preparatory work for the seven hydro schemes which Highland Council approved with conditions last March has now started. There are two separate pieces of work, one to upgrade the powerline in the glen, the other to upgrade the road so that construction traffic can use it without blocking visitors from the glen. Meantime the revised…
Three years AFTER the introduction of the camping byelaws, its been revealed that there is a “growing problem of litter and waste in the National Park”. Remember all those photos of abandoned tents left by campers who were blamed for the litter problems in the National Park and which were used to justify the introduction…
Residents of Portincaple have produced an excellent short video (see here) for their campaign launch on Monday explaining the development which threatens their local community and why they are opposed to it. The Hovering Scotsman has also supported them by providing another video showing the wonderful landscape of Loch Long along with the aims of…
It seems that the Cairngorms National Park Authority Enforcement Notice against the Glen Clova hotel hill road (see here) has had some effect because at the end of November the Estate notified Angus Council of their intention to construct a new forestry road (see here for planning papers). Not only that, but the Prior Notification papers…
After the criticisms in my last post of the lack of transparency in the planning system, its nice to report that in other areas the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority is showing signs of improvement. The LLTNPA’s recent publication of Deer Management Plans for the area is particularly welcome. The impact of deer…
When I first came across the destruction caused by the Bruar hydro scheme (see here) in August 2016 I tried to find out what had gone wrong by looking at the documents associated with the planning application on the Cairngorms National Park Planning Portal. There was not a single document on the planning portal…
I was sent this photo from David Lintern, the fine outdoor writer and photographer (see here), last night and it prompted further thoughts about the Climate Emergency and the connections between what happening on opposite sides of the world in Scotland and Australia (see here for most recent post on lessons from the Australian crisis)….
Although the Flamingo Land Planning Application may have been temporarily withdrawn, the relentless development of the south west quarter of Loch Lomond continues from Balloch in the south to Mouldale Properties plans for Tarbet in the north. In October the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s Planning Committee approved plans to increase the size…
In December the LINK hill tracks group revealed that the owner of the Glen Clova estate, Mr Hugh Niven, has appealed to the Scottish Government against the enforcement notice which the Cairngorms National Park Authority issued against the new hill road by the Clova hotel (see here) and (here): “It is deeply frustrating that a…
The main investment in new visitor infrastructure that the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has made this year is in upgrading facilities on their land at Tarbet and Inveruglas on the west shore of Loch Lomond. Tarbet featured in no less than 6 different sections of the Annual Operational Plan Progress Report submitted…
The Werritty report (see here), which was published a week before Xmas, is not disappointing, as some have claimed, its what everyone should have expected. Both the remit for the review and the membership of the review group were wrong from the outset. The question which the Scottish Government should have asked is not whether…
The environmental crisis is Australia has been back in the news because of the record temperatures – an average maximum daytime temperature of 41.9C was recorded this week – and the fires burning out of control. The fire in the Wollemi National Park, which I had wanted to visit 6 weeks ago, has now been…
Last week the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s Board approved their third Annual Update on the camping byelaws for Scottish Ministers (see here item 6). They still describe this as “Your Park” – an insult to the dozens of people, anglers for example, who used to camp freely along the loch shores enjoying…
Thanks to Phil Swainson, an occasional contributor to this blog, for forwarding me the Guardian’s long read yesterday about how Alpine Ski resorts are using snow making “to battle with climate change” (see here). Its recommended reading for anyone concerned about the future of snowsports at Cairn Gorm or who is concerned about how…
I was pleased to get this letter on Scottish Power’s plans to cover land around their windfarms with solar panels into the Herald the weekend before last . While our two National Parks may have no windfarms within their boundaries, the broader issue, the impact of renewable energy developments on the carbon held in soils,…
A month after the Flamingo Land Planning Application was withdrawn on 17th September (see here), I submitted an information request to clarify further the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board’s involvement in the whole process. EIR 2019-022 Response arrived a couple of weeks ago. It provides several insights into the Flamingo Land Planning…
The day after turnout for the General Election was 67% for the UK as a whole and 68.1% in Scotland its worth considering more lessons from Australia (see here) where voting is compulsory for all government elections and referenda. There too, the lower house, equivalent to the UK’s House of Commons, while like us having…
The Planning Application to “smooth and regrade land” to create a new beginner’s ski area at Cairn Gorm will be considered by the Cairngorms National Park Authority Planning Committee tomorrow. Officers have recommended the application should be approved. While the revised application does go some way to address issues that have been raised on…
While who gets elected in the General Election may in large part be decided by attitudes to Scottish Independence and Brexit, the wider issues facing the world are the ongoing crisis in the capitalism, the climate emergency and the collapse of the natural environment. Our National Parks are microcosms of that wider world and reflect…
Last week Revive, the coalition for grouse moor reform, issued a new report Untold Suffering about how thousands of animals are killed and trapped on Scotland’s grouse moors. Its one of the scandals of our time that this slaughter takes place even in our National Parks which were set up to protect nature (see here). …
Fires and National Parks I have been back from Australia two weeks. Yesterday I checked on the fire that had been burning in the Wollemi National Park when I was out there (see here). Its still burning. At the end of October, soon after it started, 3400 hectares of the National Park, the second…
Two days ago the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s publication of research on projected future snow lie attracted a fair amount of publicity, with headlines misleadingly suggesting that snow could be gone from the Cairngorms by 2080 (see here for example). That research is due to be considered by the CNPA Board on Friday. It forms…
Next Monday the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority will be asked to approve its third Annual Update Report to Scottish Ministers on the camping byelaws and a revised Outdoor Recreation Plan for public consultation (see here for meeting papers). I will take a critical look at the the content of these Board Papers…
The visual impact of electricity pylons in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding National Beauty have been a political issue for some time in England and Wales. In response to public pressure, a £500m UK wide fund was created to help underground powerlines. Scotland was allocated a share of this but development of proposals…