Just before she resigned as First Minister in March 2023 Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Government pushed through the Scottish Parliament what were described as “radical” changes in planning policy. This included giving the green light to any renewable developments, of whatever scale, that would help to meet UK renewable energy targets, emphasising that Scotland’s 42 Wild…
Category: Uncategorized
I had set aside last Wednesday morning to attend the Standards Commission for Scotland (SCS) hearing into Councillor Fiona Higgins, who like Sid Perrie (see here) the local elected National Park board member for Balloch, has been investigated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner for trying to raise concerns about officials. I was tipped off on…
Following my post in June (see here) about how about the transfer of land from Scottish Enterprise (SE) to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) appeared to be paving the way for Flamingo Land’s proposed development at Balloch go ahead, I have had responses to further Freedom of Information requests from…
Unacceptable telecommunications masts (29) – the new plan for Scotland from the Shared Rural Network
Ten days ago the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme announced (see here) that they were scaling the £500m UK Government funded programme to erect telecommunications masts in Total Not Spots, areas without 4G mobile phone coverage. Instead of aiming to erect c260 masts across Scotland, many in Wild Land and National Scenic Areas, the SRN are…
On 27th May Goldcrest Land and Forestry Group misleadingly announced a new property was for sale, “Beinn Bhreac Hill” (see here). In fact Goldcrest had marketed Beinn Bhreac a year ago as Lot 4 in the Royal Scottish Forestry’s Society (RFSF)’s attempt to sell off their “forest for a thousand years” at Cashel (see here)….
Last week I went out at Balmaha, the first time for over a year, and was greeted by a new forest of tree tubes. It looks terrible, is terrible for nature and ,this post argues, it exemplifies what is wrong with the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) and its new National Park…
Regular readers may or may not be surprised to hear that having helped pay to cover Balquhidder in plastic in March 2022 (see here), the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority got itself onto the shortlist for the Nature of Scotland awards on 22nd November: They didn’t win. These corporate backslapping exercises currently serve…
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…
Yesterday afternoon, after my post (see here) on Forest and Land Scotland (FLS)’s responsibility for the fires in Glenmore, the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) issued a news statement (see here) about how they were responding (to the fires, not my post). On the negative side, the statement contains not a mention of FLS and…
Gordon Watson, the Chief Executive of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA), made a number of claims in the Herald on Wednesday about what they were doing to tackle climate change and the “decline” in nature (“collapse is the more appropriate word) following the rather belated commitments they made at the COP…
No sooner had I complimented Forest and Land Scotland on how they had opened up their car parks in Glen More to campervans (see here) than they did an about turn as a result of events on the weekend that followed (see above). FLS is now trying to close car parks in Glen More to…
“It is always a great crime to deprive a people of its liberty on the pretext that it is using it wrongly” (Alexis de Tocqueville) The latest government guidance on release of the lockdown treated informal camping in exactly the same way as formal campsites (see here): “Those who want to camp in tents in…
Following the planning application to repair the funicular (see here), Highlands and Island Enterprise have submitted another two Planning Applications at Cairn Gorm. These indicate that HIE intend to submit no less than six further applications in the short-term. This post explains what is going on and takes a critical look at the new applications…
“And of course given how severely this virus is affecting older people and those with other health vulnerabilities, some form of shielding will almost certainly be required for the foreseeable future” (Nicola Sturgeon on lifting “lockdown” (see here)). In the last few weeks, as a result of the Corona Crisis, Parkswatch’s attention has shifted from…
[Ed note: for earlier post on this meeting (see here)] Under the Convenership of James Stuart it has become a feature of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Meetings that they are held in venues other than Park Headquarters – Callander Youth Project; Brig O Turk Village Hall; Balmaha Visitor Centre and most recently…
Prior to the serious flood damage to some of the hydro schemes in Glen Falloch (see here), I had been trying to persuade the Convener of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, James Stuart, that there have been some serious planning failures in respect to hydro schemes in the National Park which his Board…
In my view there is no justification for a Public Authority to commission research and then to keep this secret. That, however, has been what the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has been doing for the last five years. Unlike the Cairngorms National Park, which has a Research Strategy and a dedicated website…
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…
“Our landscape is a national asset and we believe that it should be treated with care and respect so that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy it. We encourage the Highland Council to help protect the wild nature of the glen and reverse the decision to approve these three hydro schemes.” (Mountaineering Scotland see…
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…
There was an excellent five minute discussion on the state of National Parks in England yesterday on Radio 4 featuring George Monbiot and Fiona Howie. Well worth listening to on iplayer – from 7.40 or 1:40 into programme. The interview was prompted by the resignation of a sheep farmer from the Review of National Parks…
Stephen Campbell, a keen angler, who has commented several times on parkswatch posts and like most anglers is strongly committed to conserving the natural environment sent me this photo taken at the weekend along with the comment “No Difference” and that the rubbish “had obviously been lying for a while”. The Loch Drunkie dam on…
An on the spot report by Mechelle Rafferty This is another report from real park users, in this case Michelle and the crew who have taken the time to record their experiences with LLTNP Camping provision at Loch Chon. I think it’s safe to say from Mechelles comments and by the looks on the kids…
Loch Chon now coming into the high season and the old adage springs to mind, never time to do it right but always time to do it over as the National Park give it another go with pitch surfaces. Though the majority of these issues have been in the public eye for some months the…
Following my post on the unlawful application of the camping byelaws to campervans (see here), Rob Edwards’ excellent article in the Sunday Herald (I have an interest!) prompted an interesting piece http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2017/07/10/wild-land/ from Mike Small which is well worth reading: “Scotland’s divorce from nature is intimately connected to its divorce from land. But whilst we…