THREE hydro-electricity schemes planned for one of Scotland’s wildest and most beautiful glens could still be halted after an 11th-hour move to stop them.
The schemes were approved by planners this week but now a fresh vote will have to be taken, and it could mean the entire Highland Council being bussed into Glen Etive to see for themselves the impact of the schemes on the area.
The man behind the rethink says the three schemes are an important test of Scotland’s ability to protect wild land areas from hydro development.
READ MORE: Solarplicity hit with Ofgem ban after 'unacceptable' service
The schemes were among seven from Dickins Hydro Resources in Glen Etive, close to Glen Coe, approved by Highland Council’s Planning Committee South on Wednesday. The glen was made famous by its use as a backdrop in the James Bond film Skyfall and, with its single-track road leading down to the sea, it is a popular tourist destination.
The hydro schemes include access tracks and dams on seven burns, and all seven had attracted opposition. The John Muir Trust and Mountaineering Scotland, the organisation for climbers and hillwalkers, were among those who objected to all or some of the schemes. The three on the south-east side of the River Etive attracted particular opposition as they are in an area designated as “wild land” by the Scottish Government in its official wild land maps, published after a wide ranging survey of wilderness areas carried out in 2014.
Councillor Andrew Baxter, who lives nearby in Kinlochleven and represents the area, spoke out against the three at the meeting on Wednesday because of the area’s wild land status, on the completely undeveloped south-east side of the glen which only has footpath access.
READ MORE: Why we must work together to ensure our countryside is a safe place
His motions failed, but now he has used a rule that allows any planning permission granted by planning committees to be reconsidered by the full council, provided at least 15 councillors back the idea within three days of the decision. By last night, 18 councillors had backed the rethink, and Baxter said council officials had confirmed the three plans will be reconsidered.
Before this week’s meeting of the planning committee, its members were bussed into Glen Etive to see for themselves the likely impact of the schemes on the area.
Baxter said it is now likely that all 80 Highland councillors could be asked to visit the glen next month before a special meeting of the full council at the end of March is held to reconsider the plans.
Baxter says only nine of the planning committee were at the meeting, and another councillor who like himself represents the area in question was unable to attend, and this was one of the reasons he has acted.
He said: “It’s such an important issue, not just from a personal point of view but on a wider national basis. When Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) first published the wild land maps three or four years ago now I was quite vocal within council about us supporting them.
“This really hinges on the wild land area and my feeling that they don’t have the recognition that they should within the planning system, and that they do need protection.
“Although these three applications, some would argue, are on the very edge of the wild land area, it’s not about the impact on the entire area... the experience of wild land can be a very localised thing and these will have an impact on this part of it.”
READ MORE: FOI request reveals 300 serious animal welfare breaches on farm animals
HE added: “If we start encroaching on to the wild land at the edges, developers can come along and say ‘oh we’re just going a little bit further’, and all of a sudden we find we have encroached deep into wild areas.”
He was also concerned about the schemes setting a precedent: “This is the first substantial set of hydro schemes within the designated wild land areas that we that we have seen come forward. We have seen some windfarms, and everyone has assumed that hydro power is fine and it’s less obtrusive but the restoration of the land after the work is done can go horribly wrong and really scar the landscape.”
He also fears that neither the council nor SNH has the resources to police the schemes and ensure the developer sticks to the conditions of his permission.
Calls to William Dickins, who runs Dickins Hydro, were unanswered.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here