Tag: Scottish Government

April 4, 2024 Nick Kempe 29 comments

Question: how does France (along with many other European countries) manage to have so much more woodland than Scotland and “do” forestry without fencing and planting? Answer: they control grazing by large herbivores, whether livestock or deer, using completely different legal mechanisms than exist in Scotland The fundamental failing with the legislative proposals in the…

April 2, 2024 Nick Kempe 5 comments

On Friday Planning Democracy published a post (see here) on whether National Planning Framework 4 had made any difference to the degree of protection that is given to nature under Scotland’s planning system as it was supposed to do.  This followed an event at the Scottish Parliament, sponsored by Green MSP Ariane Burgess, and the…

March 29, 2024 Professor Douglas C MacMillan 12 comments

The Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals to modernise the legislation which governs deer management in Scotland closes today (see here).    There is a survey which is relatively easy to complete. The primary aim of the proposed legislation is to ‘ensure it is fit for purpose in the context of the biodiversity and climate crises’.   The…

March 27, 2024 Jane Meek 13 comments

Following many months of speculation, the long-trailed Earba pumped storage hydro scheme proposed by Gilkes Energy for Ardverikie Estate is now the subject of a formal planning application on the Scottish Government’s Energy Consent Unit (ECU) website.  Since it was first proposed, the installed capacity of the Earba scheme has doubled from 900 MW to…

February 29, 2024 Nick Kempe 1 comment

Following the post from Lynne Somerville of the Balloch and Haldane Community Council about the proposed Vale of Leven windfarm in December (see here),  I am very pleased to be able to report that Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) staff recommended (see here) to their Planning Committee on Monday that they should…

February 28, 2024 Nick Kempe 6 comments

The current position ” Risks associated with reinstatement of the Cairngorm funicular railway were addressed through robust internal and external governance and project management”  (HIE Annual Report 2022-23 as laid before the Scottish Government in October). There was no public news release but last week Highlands and Islands Enterprise let it be known through the…

February 10, 2024 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Following Peter Page’s post on 18th January (see here) showing the consequences of the failure to provide basic visitor infrastructure at Rowardennan below Ben Lomond , on 6th February the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) published a notice on the Public Contracts Scotland portal (see here).  This showed the LLTNPA had awarded…

January 25, 2024 Nick Kempe 8 comments

On 20th October Highland Council validated a planning application (see here or ref 23/04700/FUL) to erect a 25m high telecommunications mast high on Creag Dubh between Newtonmore and Laggan. Since Creag Dubh is protected as a Site of Scientific Interest the mast requires full planning permission and Highland Council has the power to reject it….

January 24, 2024 Nick Kempe 4 comments

Gaming the holes in Scotland’s planning system Yesterday I was notified by Highland Council that the planning application (Ref 23/04957/FUL) for a telecommunications mast and 2.4km of track in the Wild Land Area at the eastern end of Loch Mullardoch had been withdrawn.  A small bit of good news. Highland Council has already withdrawn all…

December 29, 2023 Nick Kempe 7 comments

Following Storm Barbet (see here) Brechin and other settlements located by rivers which flow south and east out of the Cairngorms have TV once again been affected by flooding. People from Brechin whose property has been wrecked have been moved into hotels and describe what they have been through in the last three months as…

December 19, 2023 Professor Douglas C MacMillan 14 comments

Restoring Scotland’s natural woodland cover and biodiversity from centuries of over grazing is an urgent and necessary step towards sustainable management and care for our hills and mountains.  Woodland regeneration could, within decades, extend throughout the uplands allowing a natural woodland mosaic to develop, increasing biodiversity while protecting and enhancing the terrestrial carbon cycles.  The…

December 16, 2023 Nick Kempe 7 comments

The Scottish Government’s consultation on Tackling the Nature Emergency (see here) closed on Thursday. It is yet another consultation that will have consumed vast amounts of time and energy but is unlikely to change much. This post considers some of the key reasons why the Scottish Government’s proposals for nature restoration won’t work.  A second…

December 13, 2023 Nick Kempe 6 comments

On Monday objectors to the proposal to build a  telecommunications mast in the heart of Torridon (see here) were informed the application has been withdrawn. A small but significant victory which shows that the roll-out UK Government’s Shared Rural Network programme is far from a foregone conclusion. There had been 92 comments from the public…