This is my fourth post looking at how the Ethical Standards Commission has investigated the complaint made by Heather Reid about six emails which Sid Perrie, the locally elected member for Balloch, sent between 26 and 28th August 2024. As I explained in my first post (see here): “After the arrangements for the special board…
A video from July 2024 of the site can be seen here. Readers may be familiar with Stobo (see here and here) perhaps one of Scotland’s most environmentally destructive forestry schemes this century. In February 2024, Scottish Forestry awarded a £2 million taxpayer funded contract to the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, a ‘registered collective investment…
[NB this post was revised at 15.30 on 15th mainly to clarify/expand on some points] The Caledonian Pinewood remnant at Coille Coire Chuilc (CCC), on the edge of Cononish Glen near Tyndrum, was first protected in 1949 as part of the Ben Lui National Nature Reserve and then designated as a separate Site of…
Under “news” on the Balloch and Haldane Local Place Plan website (see here) it is reported that “over 40 people” came along to share their ideas at the consultation events held on 28th and 29th November. The population of Balloch and Haldane according to Scotland’s last (botched and not to be trusted) census is 5997. …
I had intended to include two more photos in my recent post on Coire Coire Chuilc (see here) to illustrate just how daft some managers who claim to be conservationists are when it comes to managing access. While walking through Coille Coire Chuilc, having ignored the exhortation from the Auchreoch Estate’s ” Pines and Wildlife…
This email from Heather Reid, Convener of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA), is not included in the Ethical Standards Commissioner’s report into her complaint about six emails Sid Perrie sent between 26th and 28th August 2024 (see here) and (here). When Dr Reid submitted her complaint on 29th August, in an attempt…
I visited Coille Coire Chuilc (CCC), the second most southerly Caledonian Pinewood in Scotland near Tyndrum and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), on Tuesday. The main purpose of the visit was to look at the state of the pinewood with two other people but also wanted to check whether the unlawful access sign…
The legacy of BrewDog and Scottish Woodlands at Kinrara (2) – the Caledonian Pinewood on the Dulnain
I have delayed this second post on the Lost Forest because I wanted to use what has happened at Kinrara to illustrate the arguments I and a number of others made in a paper published in the latest edition of Scottish Forestry: “Caledonian Pinewoods. A Conservation Framework” (Volume 79 No 3 Autumn/Winter 2025). Vicky Allan has…
“The community-led Local Place Planning process for Balloch, Haldane, and Jamestown is now underway, and we want you to be part of it. This is a chance for local residents, families, and businesses to come together and help shape how our community develops in the years ahead. Your input will cover everything from the spaces…
The Public Audit Committee inquiry into the funicular and the latest accounts for Cairngorm Mountain
Last Monday, 17th November, the accounts for Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE)’s subsidiary which operates Cairngorm Mountain were published on Companies House (see here). The next day the Scottish Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is currently investigating the funicular railway, met local stakeholders at a round table session in Aviemore. Parkswatch campaigners have checked…
As I demonstrated in my first post (see here), seven minutes after the locally elected board member for Balloch, Sid Perrie, sent an email to Park Convener, Heather Reid, and Board Members on 26th August 2024 raising serious concerns about the involvement of senior members of staff in the Flamingo Land application, Dr Reid had…
One wonders how much further the price of the Abrdn Property Income Trust (APIT) will drop from the current asking price of offers over £6.9m once prospective buyers become aware sheep are grazing among the newly created native woodland plantation at Far Ralia (see here)? As Drennan Watson has observed, once planted trees start to…
In response to my blog post of 10th October (see here) on ‘The near total destruction of a Twinflower population at Creag Bheithe Bheag in the Cairngorms National Park. What went wrong, and what lessons might be learnt for the future?’ I received replies from the CEO of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), Scottish Forestry (SF)…
Today the Public Audit Committee (PAC) of the Scottish Parliament, which is investigating the funicular railway (see here), is holding a round table discussion in Aviemore and is due to visit Cairn Gorm. Yesterday, the funicular was out of action yet again. The reference to “a remote technical team” is significant. It suggests that these…
In his article, “Does Scotland Need the John Muir Trust” (see here), Victor Clements asks: “if the John Muir Trust didn’t exist, would we miss them?” His existential question is relevant for any environmental charity, and it is one that I welcome. In recent months, there has been no shortage of commentary about the John…
Introduction This is the first in a series of posts which will explain how the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) has tried to silence the locally elected member for Balloch, Sid Perrie, and weaponised the Code of Conduct for board members to do so. This has serious implications not just for democracy…
(Updated Ed. Note. I offered Jane Smallman, chair of the JMT, the opportunity to reply to this post at the same time it was publishednstating I would be happy to publish any response Jane Smallman (or other trustees of JMT) have to Victor’s criticisms. I am pleased to say David Balharry, the Chief Executive, has…
This picture of two piers below the passing loop show just how bad things are. There are 47 brackets on the two “I” beams between those piers and the two insitu joints have been rebuilt. The beam in the photo was found to be delaminating in 2017 and the calcite bleed can still be seen…
On Monday 10th November the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) are holding a special board meeting to approve the evidence report for their new Local Development Plan (LDP)for approval by Scottish Ministers. Sid Perrie, the locally elected member for Balloch who is now off sick due to the actions of the Standards…
Update 6th November. At 16.00 hrs today, almost three working days after we sent the letter below, we received a three and a half page letter from the Standards Commission explaining they had informed the Helensburgh Advertiser of the Hearing and this was normal procedure. We have responded to the Executive Director of the Standards…
The funicular is currently closed for “maintenance” between 3rd and 9th November. This is the fourth time this has happened this year. As Graham Garfoot explained last week (see here), this is a portent of things to come. The complex tensioning system for the brackets which are holding the funicular structure together will require regular…
The Abrdn Property Income Trust (APIT) is now marketing Far Ralia for offers over £6.9m (see here), which is less than the recent £8m valuation, less than the £7.5m they bought it for five years ago and considerably less than the £12m they were asking for 15 months ago (see here). Deduct from the new…
Introduction to the current problems Prior to the funicular returning to service on 27th February (see here) Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) made this announcement on 5th February (see here):- “Staff at Cairngorm Mountain have today (Wednesday 5 February) begun a series of maintenance activities on the electrical, mechanical and hydraulic systems that govern the…
I thought we lived in a world where science guided our decisions about how best to protect nature and the planet. Sadly this would appear not to be the case. Vested interests and the voices of the powerful now hold sway, with science only deployed by government where there is good reason to expect it’s…
Background After the Reporter appointed to hear Flamingo Land’s appeal, Mr Buylla, issued his Notice of Intention in May that their proposed development be approved (see here), the only option left to campaigners to stop the development at Balloch under planning law was to ask Scottish Ministers to call in the application and for the Scottish…