I had said I would follow my post looking at the impact of BrewDog’s tree planting at Kinrara (see here) with one that looked at the impact of the new deer fences. However, having looked at further further information about BrewDog’s carbon emissions at Kinrara, it seems more important to cover that first. The carbon…
The UK Government, landowners and telecommunications masts – the landscape and environmental impacts
Who benefits from the telecommunication masts? The spate of new telecommunications masts which, as George Allan from the North East Mountain Trust explained on Monday (see here), threaten some of Scotland’s finest landscapes are intended to eliminate “total not spots”. They form part of the Shared Rural Network programme and are being funded by…
Having been blogging and trying to raise awareness about landslips for the last four years, it was great to get some wider coverage in the last week. First I was asked to speak about landslips with Craig Dalzell on Common Weal’s policy podcast (see here). I am convener of Common Weal’s Care Reform Group but…
Planning applications are coming in thick and fast for 25 metre communications masts in remote hill country in Scotland as part of the UK Government’s Digital Connectivity Programme – the Shared Rural Network. Some appear to have almost no public benefit and are proposed for Scotland’s finest landscapes. Anyone for near to the Falls…
At the start of October, almost a year after they bought the Glen Prosen Estate for £17,555,000, , Forest and Land Scotland (FLS) launched an initial consultation of what to do with the land and buildings under the banner of developing an Angus Glens Land Management Plan (see here). When I last wrote about Glen…
The accounts for Natural Assets Investment Ltd (NAIL) (see here), the zombie company which bought Cairngorm Mountain Ltd (CML) from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), were published at the end of September. NAIL placed CML into administration after the funicular became unsafe to operate in 2018 and was one of the parties HIE subsequently sued….
The recent report from Cairngorms Connect (see here), which explained the last 30 years experience of rewilding on the western slopes of the Cairngorms massif, was covered in the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald (“Fences are “no answer in Forests””) and attracted two letters in responses from Basil Dunlop and myself – see below. The information…
Since writing about the consequences of the extreme rainfall which fell in Cowal (see here) and Glen Kinglas (see here) on 7th October, I have been sent some further photos which provides an opportunity to add to some of the arguments I made in those posts. While I saw the extent of the extensive flooding…
Shortly after I wrote to Dr Heather Reid, the Convener of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA), questioning her decision that dealing with the potential risks at the Cononish goldmine caused by Scotgold’s financial difficulties was purely an operational matter (see here), a report on the mine appeared among the papers for…
The headwaters of the River South Esk, which flooded Brechin last week with such destructive effect, lie in Glen Doll in the Cairngorms National Park. The River South Esk then flows down Glen Clova, where it is joined by the River Prosen, before leaving the Cairngorms massif and turning in an easterly direction through Brechin…
While researching why the funicular was beams were built out of concrete rather than steel (see here), apart from being told that the beams should have been deeper, “tensioning” was mentioned. I didn’t appreciate the importance of what was being talked about at the time but then, after my last post (see here), this comment appeared:-…
According to BEAR Scotland, the consortium of private companies who manage trunk roads on behalf of Transport Scotland, around 160mm of rain fell in 36 hours around the Rest and Be Thankful two weekends ago and caused eleven landslips (see here– news release dated 11th October): “One small landslide at the Rest and be Thankful….
Living as we do on the western edge of Europe, in its windiest country notorious and one that is notorious for its wet weather, I had tended to assume that Scotland bears the brunt of the storms that cross the Atlantic. After the Met Office had issued warnings for Storm Alex at the end of…
This is the most recent official photo from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority showing the state of the Cononish goldmine. Now imagine what might have happened if 8 inches/20cm of rain had fallen on it last weekend as happened elsewhere in the west of Scotland with no workforce available to respond? Six…
Since the funicular was closed on 25th August for “snagging” (see here) to address public safety concerns the re-opening date keeps getting put back. The latest is Monday – 16/10/2023! Little further information has been forthcoming from HIE about the reasons for the closure or the work being done although following my post they did once…
While governments across the world fail to implement or row back on actions to reduce our carbon emissions and respond to climate change, CO2 fuelled hot air wreaks increasing havoc. The same heat that is causing more hurricanes in the Caribbean at the end of each summer often drives the tail end of those storms…
“Forest” = “a large area covered with trees and plants/undergrowth” Following my posts about BrewDog’s “Lost Forest” at Kinrara in February (see here) and (here), I was sent further photos showing work that had taken place in October and November last year to restore peatland and prepare the ground for tree planting. It looked terrible…
Eighty staff laid off Last week Scotgold Resources announced that the “unique package” which the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) had claimed would “deliver multiple benefits for the area” and create jobs (see above) was putting the majority of its employees at the Cononish goldmine in Strath Fillan on short-term unpaid leave…
The Luibeg mast planning application Yesterday the planning application for the proposed telecommunications mast above the Luibeg bridge on the Mar Lodge estate (see here) was temporarily withdrawn by the developer “in light of recent consultation responses received“. The application was rapidly developing into a test case for plans to erect similar masts (with access tracks…
Along with Andy Wightman and Nick Kempe (see here) I recently spoke at the event on the Scotland/England border to highlight the campaign to extend public access rights England. The text of my contribution, which I hope has relevance to national parks and other land and water in the UK, is found below. It is worth…
An application (link here) to erect a 20m digital communications mast adjacent to the Luibeg footbridge and the paths to the Lairg Ghru and to Coire Sputan Dearg has been called in by Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) for a decision. Background to the Luibeg application As readers of Patchwatch will know, this area is…
On Saturday I was involved in a demonstration organised by the Right to Roam campaign at Scots Dyke, constructed in 1552 to delineate the border between Scotland and England. As one activist straddling the border put it, this foot has a right to be here, the other one doesn’t. The differences in access laws between…
The paragraph above is what is currently on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) website (see here). When the Board Papers for this meeting first appeared it was indicated that it would be ‘Live Streamed’ as usual. It was only when I logged on to the Board meeting at 9.50amn that there…
In June HIE claimed the funicular was perfectly safe On 09/06/2023, after being contacted by several Parkswatch readers, I wrote a letter (see here) raising safety concerns about the Cairn Gorm funicular to Stuart Black, Chief Executive Officer of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), who own it. On 21/06/2023, I received a reply not from…
Scotland National Parks and the Scottish Government If you want to understand why Scotland’s National Parks have achieved so little in the 20 years since they were created, you need look no further than successive Scottish Governments, both the Ministers responsible and the civil servants that have supported them. Instead of encouraging and empowering our…