Four conservation charities, Buglife, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, the Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group and the Cairngorms Campaign, have lost their legal appeal against plans for large new housing developments in the Cairngorms National Park.
The charities were objecting to the creation of a new town of 1,500 houses at An Camas Mor near Aviemore, and a near doubling of the size of Kingussie as well as other housing developments in Carrbridge and Nethy Bridge.
Following a previous unsuccessful challenge to the Local Plan, the charities appealed that decision. Today the Court of Session rejected that appeal with the judges saying they were not persuaded that a reference to the European Court of Justice was necessary in the action.
One of the judges, Lady Paton, said the Cairngorms National park Authority’s (CNPA) appropriate assessment could not be said to be one which no reasonable authority would have produced in the circumstances, “It was therefore open to the CNPA to adopt a local plan which relied on the assessment.”
Alice Farr from Buglife said on behalf of the Safeguard the Cairngorms Campaign, “Obviously we are extremely disappointed with this decision and feel that protecting our precious wildlife has, again, been put in second place. We are taking legal advice on what the next options could be. It is still possible to appeal to the Supreme Court and to lodge a complaint with the European Commission.”
Bill McDermott, chairman of the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, when launching the appeal said: “The park authority has been acting as the developers’ friend. It should be a conservation agency not a development agency. There was a public local inquiry into the park authority’s Plan, and we felt natural justice was ignored when the park authority failed to follow the Reporter’s recommendations. We’re fully aware of the need to house local people, and have well-balanced communities with homes for young people who couldn’t otherwise afford to live in the park. But the authority will trash the park the way they’re going. Theirs is a recipe for masses of holiday homes, and social incohesion.”