While over the last couple of years I have frequently raised concerns about the management of the natural environment at Cairngorm, the absence of any proper plan for the area and the proposals for yet more inappropriate developments and the financial position and practices of Natural Retreats, parkswatch has so far not commented on their…
Tag: planning
Anyone passing through the Drumochter, even in snow, should be able to see the scars on the hillside between the summit of the pass and north Drumochter lodge but far fewer people are aware of the scars and failed restoration hidden behind the shelter belts on either side of this. Its taken me six months…
When Highlands and Islands Enterprise sold Cairngorm Mountain Ltd to Natural Assets Investment Ltd they did so on the basis that its operational arm, Natural Retreats had the knowledge, competence and financial strength to bring new ideas and new investment to Cairngorm. In the last week further evidence has emerged to show how laughable those…
In a major embarrassment for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority the Lennox Herald reported over 118 trees were chopped down last week on land which the Park manages and provided an excellent photo of the damage (see here). While its unclear at present who was responsible for this, the extent of the…
Yesterday the Cairngorms National Park Authority called in a planning application (see here) for a dry ski slope by the Coire Cas Car Park at Cairngorm which had been lodged at Highland Council by Cairngorm Mountain Ltd, whose registered address is now Wilmslow in Cheshire. The idea of a dry ski slope here was originally…
The day of my post about the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority becoming a camping management authority (see here), the article above appeared in the Herald. Proof, if you want, that what I said is not the whole story and a reminder – if one is needed after the Cononish gold mine decision…
The Cairngorms National Park Authority meeting today has a fairly limited agenda (see here): an informative report from their Chief Executive on what has been going on; a four year corporate plan, a one year operational plan together, somewhat strangely, with a (welcome) paper on not paying Board Members who fail to attend meetings; a communications…
Last week on Tuesday the LLTNPA Board unanimously agreed to give the go ahead to the Cononish goldmine. That they did so tells you everything which is is wrong about our National Parks in Scotland. That they did so unanimously tells you that there is still something seriously wrong with the LLTNPA Board. That…
The consultation on the Cairngorms National Park Authority Main Issues Report ends tomorrow. Following previous posts (see here) and (here), this post takes a closer look at housing, which plays a prominent role in the report and features within a number of the Main Issues identified. Main Issue 2 Designing Great Places The Report notes…
Yesterday, on way up to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority meeting on the Cononish goldmine, I stopped off to take another look at the Derrydarroch hydro scheme in Glen Falloch – I had not been to the powerhouse area for over a year. I don’t recall seeing the top sign on the…
The consultation on the Cairngorms Main Issues Report (see here), the discussion document which precedes the new development plan, closes this Friday. The Scottish Government has mooted in the Planning Bill the abolition of such reports with Planning Authorities moving direct the draft plan stage in the name of efficiency. To their credit, the Cairngorms…
“Wild land areas must get the same absolute protection as national scenic areas and national parks. Time is running out for Scotland’s most precious natural asset: its landscape, as more and more wild land is eroded by development” That was the response of David Gibson, Chief Executive of Mountaineering Scotland, after the Court of Session…
Both our National Parks have two statutory objectives which incorporate the term ‘sustainable’: “to promote the sustainable use of natural resources”, and “to promote sustainable economic and social development of the area’s communities”. As I revealed last week (see here), while the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has adopted a policy on mining…
Two weeks ago, when I was in Glen Clova, I went to take a closer look at some of the tracks I had seen while doing a round of the Glen Prosen skyline (see here). This post takes a further look at what has been happening. None of the five tracks featured here appears on…
Until a couple of days ago, there was NO information on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority website about Board or Committee Meetings this year, no dates, nothing. I had written to the LLTNPA about this a couple of weeks ago, only to be reminded that the October 2017 Board Meeting had agreed…
The Scottish Government’s Planning Bill and the CNPA response In December, the Scottish Government published its Planning Bill and this is now going through Parliament and will be considered this month by the Local Government Committee. While in the Memorandum accompanying the Planning Bill the Scottish Government clearly states “The purpose of planning is to…
Following my post on what is going on behind the scenes at Scotgold Resources (see here), this post will take a further look at the landscape and wild land impacts of their proposals for storing waste extracted from the mine and their response to the objections made by myself and Mountaineering Scotland (see here). The…
Further evidence of the political power of landowners in our National Parks was revealed yesterday when Kate Forbes, the SNH MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, held a reception for the Gift of Grouse http://www.giftofgrouse.com/ at the Scottish Parliament. This was preceded by an excellent post from Raptor Persecution Scotland (see here) lambasting the claims…
The four aims set out by the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000: To conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the area. To promote sustainable use of the natural resources of the area. To promote understanding and enjoyment (including enjoyment in the form of recreation) of the special qualities of the area by…
This post explores considers very recent developments in what is going on at Cairngorm Mountain, following earlier posts (see here), how this is symptomatic of wider ills in how companies are allowed to operate and the implications for the proposed development at the Ptarmigan. Unfortunately being in a National Park offers no immunity to this…
On 7th December, the same day that Bill Stephen’s objection to the Cononish goldmine planning application was published (see here), Scotgold Resources lodged an Addendum to their Environmental Statement, a document which in turn included another five 5 addenda of its own. A a few days later, on 13th December, they lodged a response to…
The snow, last weekend, nicely brought out the relief around the Cononish gold mine but also covered up its visual impact, with the waste bags covered by snow. The photo shows, I believe, that what I stated in my last post (see here) on Cononish was correct: “The Wild Land Assessment contained in the…
I have been aware of the Beachen Court housing development at Grantown for some time. I believe it illustrates many of the fundamental issues facing the Cairngorms National Park Authority in respect to housing and planning, some of which it is currently consulting on in its Main Issues Report (see here). The area, previously flower…
I had not personally visited Coire na Ciste since HIE found £267k for a clear-up at Cairngorm (see here) in which they removed the ski infastructure there without any consultation. Having been sent the above photo (used with permission) I wish I had. The half removed unmarked infrastructure is an obvious hazard which could…
Last week, nine months after Highlands and Island Enterprise launched its so called masterplan for Cairngorm (see here), the Strathy announced the date of the pre-planning consultation event on the proposals to revamp the Ptarmigan near the summit of the hill. At the same time it also broke the news that the Scottish Ski Club,…