IT was just over couple of years ago that I heard Advance Construction had purchased a few land parcels on the eastern side of the Calderglen gorge – known as Auchentibber, Basket and Craigneith.
A few weeks ago I noticed that hedgerows had been ripped out in the area. Next a nearby large wetland pond was filled in, which involved the destruction of a linear Medieval dyke topped by large mature beech woodland. As far as I can trace no felling permissions were granted for this. The spot is now an unsightly mess and we do not know what has been dumped into the hole, although we do know that asbestos, cadmium and mercury have been dumped in other pits in the region.
Then about five days ago we were told that Craigneith Castle had been destroyed.
I went up to survey the site, to make videos and to take photos. When I made my way over to Craigneith Castle I discovered that large stands of birch and willow woodland in Craigneith field adjoining the Glen have been decimated. Birds eggs lay scattered about the removed trees suggesting birds had been killed in their removal.
Craigneith Castle had been partially demolished and about 60% of the overall site lost, including ancient hedgerows and trees.
The curvilinear outer enclosure of the Castle site, believed to be Medieval has almost vanished, leaving just a scar in the ground. Only a very small section of it remains and even that is damaged.
There were recent reports of a small fleet of heavy construction vehicles descending on the site one evening and there were reports online of more damage.
The most recent reports suggest there is still ongoing large-scale groundworks around the site involving heavy machinery pounding into the ground making high pitched striking noises. They are hitting into the bedrock with the fields turning into an excavation.
So far I have taken up the matter with a Historic Environment Scotland (HES) in Edinburgh, West of Scotland Archaeological Service and the local planning department.
HES has told me they are going to try and prrioritise the matter as quickly as possible.
Members of the public have told me they have contacted MPs, councillors, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, the police and the RSPB.
I have myself contacted the Scottish Forestry Commission. A staff member there took down a lot of the information and I sent her 84 pieces of evidence and provided a summary. She told me could not find the sales particulars for the lands to look into what permissions came with the buying of the land.
The work being carried out has almost fully destroyed a castle and killed birds and is threatening to level an ancient mound.
It seems to me that something is very wrong here and I hope our local representatives will seen be able to tell us what’s going on.
Chris Ladds is a humanities researcher and the chairperson of Calderglen Heritage. For around 15 years he has been fighting to promote and save district sites of historical, archaeological, and biodiversity importance.
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