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…
Tag: planning
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…
I have followed some of the Parkswatch blogs about the awful hydro tracks around Glen Falloch (see here) and seen them for myself from the hills. In July 2017 we were staying in Lochcarron and I was horrified to see a hydro scheme at Coulags at the start of the walk up Maol Chean-dearg. This…
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…
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…
Alan Brattey here explains the background to the current crisis at Cairngorm and his comments as reported in the Strathy. The CairnGorm Mountain Funicular Railway was constructed as a replacement for the ageing Carpark and White Lady Chairlifts, at a cost of £19.54m in public funding and EU funding. Add non-construction costs to that and…
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…
Venue – Balmaha Visitor Centre Images from Wikipedia On arrival seating was arranged in an Open Area of the Visitor Centre. Then the seating was removed except for three chairs for members of the public attending the meeting – there were four of us! Apparently it was to be a “Standing Meeting” where only members…
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…
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…
Proposals for a huge development around the shores of Loch Lomond at Balloch are being considered by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, which is the planning authority within the park boundaries. There are arguments to be had about whether tourist developments bring economic benefit on one hand but the loss of public space…
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…
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…
The consultation on the second five year Cairngorms Nature Action Plan was launched on 20th June and closes on Friday 14th September at 5pm. The draft plan is easy to read (just 36 pages with big print and lots of photos) and there in an online survey form which focuses on whether the aims, objectives…
As of today, there were 1008 documents on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Planning Portal (see here) associated with the Flamingo Land Planning Application. Most of them appear to be objections but even letters of support express significant concerns. Among local residents, whether objectors or supporters, one major concern is that Balloch…
At the end of June the Cairngorms National Park Authority Planning Committee considered the responses to its public consultation on Local Development Plan, the Main Issues Report, which has previously been covered on Parkswatch (see here for example). There were 331 responses and these are summarised and considered in a 247 page report to the…
The Glen Etive hydro proposals After the developments at the head of Glen Coe (see here), just when one thought it couldn’t get any worse, seven planning applications have been submitted for hydro schemes in Glen Etive on land owned by the Dalness Estate. Each scheme has been submitted as an individual application with its…
Last week the Herald reported figures from Trip Advisor showing that a trip through Glen Coe and other unnamed parts of the Highlands was rated as THE top visitor attraction in Scotland. The central importance of landscape and cultural history to tourism, not to mention our own physical and mental well-being, is well researched. Despite…