On 1st April 2022 a new Land Register, the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land (RCI), was created under The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. Its intention was to cut through all the off-shore companies, trusts etc, which are often used to own and manage land, and enable the “real” owners and…
Tag: Freedom of Information
[This post was updated and corrected 12/2/26 to reflect the fact that the costs of creating new plantations are not fully met by Scottish Forestry grants] On Thursday Oxygen Conservation announced (see here) that they have been awarded £3.3m in forestry grants to plant a large chunk of the Invergeldie Estate north of Comrie. …
In 2018 Historic Environment Scotland (HES) closed the Radical Road at the base of Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, citing safety concerns . Many viewed this as a serious restriction on established Scottish access rights (see here). At the time, however, it was difficult to challenge the decision, as it rested on the argument…
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…
[Author note. Andy was previously an Ecologist, now retired, working for an NGO in the Cairngorms. He is currently the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) vice-county recorder for East Inverness-shire (https://bsbi.org/easterness)]. Introduction Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) is an iconic and charismatic flower of the Caledonian Pinewood. It is a Nationally Scarce mat-forming creeping perennial,…
On Monday morning I watched the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board Meeting online (see here for agenda and papers). It should be essential viewing for anyone who cares about what is happening to democracy in Scotland but neither the LLTNPA Board nor the Scottish Government want public to see how they…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board duly agreed (see here) at their meeting yesterday to do nothing further to oppose the proposed Lomond Banks development. They have also handed all responsibility for negotiating a Section 75 Agreement with Flamingo Land, (as suggested but NOT required by the Scottish Government’s Reporter) which…
A couple of hours after my post on FLS yesterday (see here) I received a response from FLS to a Freedom of Information request I had submitted on 24th February about the Sallochy campsite. I can find no acknowledgement from FLS of that request in my emails so the timing of their response is interesting! …
The planning application for the Loch Lomond rescue boat at Balloch – a positive decision badly made
On 10th October Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) planning officers approved a planning application to build a new station and slipway, access road and associated parking for the Loch Lomond Rescue Boat near the pierhead in Balloch. The Rescue Boat is a charity operated by volunteers and so far this year…
On Monday 16th September, as widely reported in the media – the BBC gave it coverage on UK news – those of the board of the Loch Lomond Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) present duly accepted the recommendations of their officers, without amendment, and rejected Flamingo Land’s planning application. This outcome was as I had…
After first hearing about the native woodland scheme at Muckrach I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Scottish Forestry (SF) for its contract with Calthorpe Estates, the family trust which owns the land, and any reports from inspection visits. Just like when the BrewDog Lost Forest disaster become apparent (see here), it turns out…
Following my post on the disastrous new section of road at Muckrach (see here), the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) informed me that they weren’t aware of the work but were now looking into it. I then heard from another source that the CNPA were due to meet with Savills, who oversaw the whole Muckrach…
The Flamingo Land planning application and the £2.4m investment Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) staff have agreed at the pierhead, which I considered in my last post (see here), is far from the only important issue facing the National Park Authority which is not on the agenda for the Board Meeting on…
It took five FOI requests, but this week I finally managed to get Grid References for the masts the UK Government plans to build for the Shared Rural Network srn.org.uk. These are plotted above on the Wild Land areas designated by NatureScot nature.scot/doc/wild-land Wild Land is of course uninhabited, with no public roads or premises….
Ten days ago tree nurseries were in the news (see here) when Christie’s of Fochabers were quoted as claiming “We will have to burn millions of trees after cuts” as a result of the Scottish Government deciding to cut funding for tree planting by 44% to £45.4m next year. The BBC quoted Mr Christie, the…
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….
Two years Abrdn Property Income Trust (formerly the Standard Life Property and Income Trust) bought 1400 hectares of land from the Ralia and Drumochter Estate with the stated intention of using the land to offset carbon emissions by planting trees. Abrdn were advised on the purchase and the “habitat restoration project” (see here) by Fenwick…
On 30th June the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) issued a news release (see here) stating that Sandy Bremner and Eleanor Mackintosh had been elected as new Convener and vice-Convener of the Cairngorms National Park Authority on 28th June. The elections were to replace Xander McDade, who had announced earlier in the year that he…
For the last few years the Herald has carried a full page feature about once a week on the climate emergency and nature crises. Every 4-6 weeks this involves NatureScot, the new brand name for what is legally still Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). Sometimes these pieces are written by NatureScot – often under the name…
Walking back down the road in upper Glen Falloch in September the difference in vegetation between the east and west banks of the River Falloch was striking. On the right of the photo you can see lots of natural regeneration, whereas on the left there is none. The Roy Map 1747-52 (see here) shows the…
A couple of weeks ago the latest accounts for Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd (CMSL), Highland and Island Enterprise’s wholly owned subsidiary, were published (see here). They are a charade but confirm it is not just the financial liabilities created by the funicular which are the problem. While CMSL describes its principal activity as “the operation…
This post take a further look (see here) at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA)’s attempt to sell off its Visitor Centre at Luss, in the light of the discussion and decision made at the Board Meeting on 26th September and responses to Freedom of Information Request (FOI)s. I argue that the…
Hidden away among the many comments on Flamingo Land’s Planning Application is a letter from Emma Yendell, Estates Manager with the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) (see here). While comments from other Public Authorities are mostly highlighted as such, this one from the LLTNPA is marked as “correspondence” and easy enough to…
This post contains the second part of the report (see here for first) that was presented to Ivan McKee, the Minister responsible for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) at the beginning of July. Draft Report in response to the financial crisis facing Cairngorm Part II The bigger picture 4) What is needed at Cairn…
Last week news emerged (see here) that the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) was proposing to sell off its former visitor centre in Luss. A paper was to be considered by the Board Meeting scheduled for today (see here) but, due to the death of the Queen, that meeting has been postponed…