Parkswatch sometimes gets it wrong and has done so in claiming that with hydro schemes in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park that it is the tracks, not the buried pipelines, which are the main issue. That is not the case at the Burn of Mar hydro scheme, situated at the back of Conic…
Author: Nick Kempe
Cairngorm is a beautiful mountain. It retains that beauty despite Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s record as custodians of the Cairngorm Estate during which landscape and wildlife, and all the people to whom these are important, have been shown scant respect. Despite the unnecessary clutter, rubbish and vehicle tracks the ski areas too retain their beauty…
Scotland has a long history of failed economic projects – with railways providing some prime examples. Within the land now designated as a National Park I am particularly fond of the proposals developed during the 1845 railway bubble. The Caledonian Northern Direct Company, chaired by the Duke of Montrose, proposed construction of a line…
On Friday the Cairngorms National Park Authority Planning Committee is due to consider the application by Natural Retreats, financed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, for a dry ski slope at Cairngorm (see here). It hard to conceive of a more inappropriate development but officers have recommended that Board Members accept the proposal. The issues are…
In January I blogged about the estate management plans the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has been developing with some landowners (see here) and which I had requested be made public last October. As a result of my appeal to the Information Commissioner, in July the LLTNPA “voluntarily” published some information on Integrated…
The launch of a campaign last week (see here) by Green MSP Ross Greer to get people to object to the Flamingo Land Planning Application and promoted by Save Loch Lomond (see here) has had a huge response. 26,520 people to date have registered objections on the portal the Greens have set up Whether the Loch…
Parkswatch has commented several times on the differences between our two National Parks and the evidence now suggests that they are going in two different directions, one generally positive the other disastrous. This was very evident from their Board Meetings which took place in September. The agenda of the September Board Meeting of the Loch…
I had previously arranged to go for a walk to look at the state of Cairngorm yesterday. Coincidentally, this was a day after HIE announced (see here for News Release) that the funicular would be closed for another month to allow “further investigation” of cracks that have appeared and in the same week that the…
A week ago, two thirds along the forest track between the Ardchullarie and Anie hydro intake (see here), above the eastern shore of Loch Lubnaig, I came across this locked gate. (It was hard to note the exact position after been sandwiched between thick conifer plantations for a time but it was at GR 594115…
West of the Keltie Water hydro scheme, which has been shortleeted for a Scottish Planning quality award (see here), on the other side of the ridge and high ground running south from Beinn Each, are two further run of river hydro schemes. Both are situated in forestry/woodland on the Drumardoch and Ardchullarie Estate above…
Eighteen months ago I blogged about the Keltie Water hydro scheme north of Callander based on photos supplied by Derek Sime from the Munro Society (see here) concluding that it was one of the better hydro schemes I had seen in the National Park. I found out last week that it has now been shortlisted…
Last week Community Land Scotland, who have the ear of the Scottish Government, was reported in the Herald as claiming “Rural communities are being “airbrushed” out of Scotland’s rugged landscapes by policymakers who care more about maintaining an artificial wilderness” (see here). One of CLS’s central arguments is that protection of wild land is preventing…
Three weeks ago the Cairngorms National Park Authority decided to approve the retrospective planning application for a section of the unlawful Glen Banchor track. Its a positive thing that members of the CNPA planning Committee are so concerned about the proliferation of hill tracks – Dave Fallows was right to describe the Glen Banchor…
Following my post on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s war on campers (see here). I submitted an FOI request asking for the LLTNPA to explain reasons the Loch Achray campsite had not been opened (it was due to open in March 2018) and to make this public. On 10th September I received…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board will be meeting on Monday in the National Park Visitor Centre at Balmaha (see here) The agenda and papers were published over two weeks ago – a record for the LLTNPA – but a reflection of how little is in them. There is only one item…
The consultation on the draft Cairngorms Nature Action Plan closes tomorrow on Friday 14th September. A month ago (see here) I considered the context for the plan and the proposed priorities for landscape scale conservation: farmland, freshwater restoration, woodland expansion and peatland . This post will look at the other two professed aims of the…
On Saturday I was delighted to be one of the speakers at a demonstration against Flamingo Land organised by Save Loch Lomond (see here) and which was covered on STV news (see here). While I believe the decision about whether Flamingo Land goes ahead will ultimately be decided by politics, part of my speech covered planning…
Following coverage of Highland and Islands Enterprise and Natural Retreats failures to act on health and safety recommendations from independent consultants about the ski life infrastructure (see here), HIE refused to provide a copy of the latest report (they had provided two previous reports), citing commerical confidentiality and intellectual property rights. Malcom Garfoot appealed and…
I have been staying in the Saas Tal, which I have found out now markets itself as the free republic of holidays, the last few days. On top of the basic campsite charge of 14 swiss francs (£11.20) a night I have also paid 7 swiss francs (£5.60) in tourist tax. That increases the basic charge…
After my post on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority war on campers, which referred to the Park’s failure to open the new campsite at Loch Achray as promised (see here), local rumours are that the campsite has not opened because the water from the borehole is not drinkable. I have asked the…
While Argyll and Bute Council’s decision to raise car parking charges at Arrochar by 800% (see here), has received much media attention, it also transpires that they intend to introduce this level of charges at their car park in Duck Bay, one of the most popular places for visitors on the west shore of Loch…
Following my piece, illustrated with David Lintern’s fine photos,on the would be desecration of Glen Etive by 7 hydro schemes (see here) Tim Parkin, who runs a landscape photography magazine (http://www.timparkin.net), offered to get more photos for use on Parkswatch to help show what is at stake. One of the things I should have said…
Highlands and Islands Enterprise sold Cairngorm Mountain Ltd (CML) to Natural Assets Investments Ltd in 2014. The ostensible thinking behind the sale was that the Natural Retreats group of companies would bring new investment to Cairngorm and make it a profitable business. HIE probably also saw this as an opportunity to recover some of the…
After the fire in December 2017, in which two people tragically died, Cameron House needs to be rebuilt. There are a number of other associated businesses on the site (234 berth marina, 87 lodges, restaurant, golf course and sea plane flights) that have continued to operate since the fire and need to do so…
After recent criticisms of SNH on Parkswatch, for example their failure to assess properly the impact of all seven Glen Etive hydro schemes on the landscape (see here), it is a pleasure to report on a consultation which could, if the proposals were widely adopted, make a real difference to landscape protection. The consultation is…