{"id":19578,"date":"2019-04-23T10:53:48","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T10:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=19578"},"modified":"2021-01-19T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T14:10:33","slug":"some-lessons-from-glen-etive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/some-lessons-from-glen-etive\/","title":{"rendered":"Some lessons from Glen Etive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Fruitful glen of pools and fishes, Glen of hawks, blue eyed, crying” – <\/em>Gleann Measach Iasgach Linneach – Deirdre of the Sorrows <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to\nIrish mythology, Deirdre and her love Naoise founded Glen Etive after\nfleeing Ulster. What was a place of refuge has become a place of\nconflict, where environmental priorities are weighed against each\nother and land justice issues play out. David Lintern looks at the\ncontext and wonders what can be learnt.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First,\na recap. Last year, developer Dickens Hydro Resources put in\nplanning applications for seven run of river hydro schemes, off every\nmain tributary feeding the main River Etive. In February this year,\nall were approved by Highland Council, with a last-minute amendment\nsuggested by a local Councillor who, noting the levels of public\nsupport and measured objections by both Mountaineering Scotland and\nthe John Muir Trust, asked for a full Council hearing to review the 3\nmost fragile sites on the east side of the glen \u2013 Allt a\u2019\nChaorainn, Allt Ceitlein and Allt Mheuran. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The stalkers’ path by Allt Mheuran, soon to become a road<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At this point I should come clean and tell you I was one of around half a dozen people who found themselves administering a campaign group called \u2018Save Glen Etive\u2019. This was completely organic and set up in response to a public groundswell of opinion in opposition to the plans. Some of us had written emails to councilors which caused a bit of a stooshie online; others quickly set up a facebook group, built a website, organised a petition or found themselves speaking to the press. We were just a handful of the 650 regular citizens who had objected originally, and a few of the 13,000 who signed the petition afterward. It all happened really quickly and collectively involved hundreds of hours of voluntary work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign group\nfocused their attentions on the same three sites, \u2018campaigning for\ncompromise\u2019. The full council hearing was heard on the 20th<\/sup>\nMarch, when the final three were approved for the second time. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out in the wider world – in the same week that the decision was made – two important reports were published and a further one announced: The Land Commission report, the Natural Capital report, and a UN funded Biodiversity report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Allt a Chaorrain, burn of the Rowan. An average of 70% of the water will be removed<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The\nLand Commission report evidenced a widespread use of power by large\nestates to control community access to housing and other\ndevelopments. It proposed strong measures to deal with this; the\nintroduction of a Public Interest Test for big land transfers and\nacquisitions; requiring estates over a certain scale to consult on\nand publish management plans; and legislating for a new Land Rights\nand Responsibilities review process. It\u2019s\nbeing seen by land reformers as a serious challenge to large-scale\nprivate ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nNatural Capital report demonstrated the financial benefits of\nScotland\u2019s \u2018nature-based industries\u2019 \u2013 renewables, fisheries\nand oil. Putting monetary value on nature has its critics but for a\npro-independence government looking beyond Brexit, as well as for\nsome NGO\u2019s, there\u2019s clearly political advantage in showcasing\nwhat Scotland produces from its land and marine assets. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly,\nthe UN backed report (full report out in May) proves that\nbiodiversity loss is every bit as serious as our carbon fuelled\nclimate emergency. In some ways this might be seen as a challenge to\nNatural Capital \u2013 it looks at the environmental costs of resource\nextraction not just the economic benefits. It outlines thousands of\nspecies at risk of extinction and land use far outstripping nature\u2019s\nability to renew itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The best steep creek in Scotland_ Kayaking on Allt a’ Choarrain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So\nwithin just a day or so of the decision on Glen Etive, we were all in\na very different landscape, with a new \u2013 or at least newly\nacknowledged \u2013 context for the decisions. How did the verdict on\nthe Etive three fit with this bigger picture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nland reform and communities\u2019 issue was perhaps the most immediately\ndifficult for everyone \u2013 both those resident in the glen, and\nobjectors to the new developments. Quite quickly, the debate\npolarised into a case of locals versus outsiders \u2013 \u2018us\u2019 versus\n\u2018them\u2019 – despite the fact that many of those objecting to the\nthree schemes were Highland based, some in the immediate area. Some\nhistorical antipathy towards Central Belters in the Highlands is\nperhaps understandable but also easy to weaponise, and this serves\nvarious parties \u2013 some looking for change, others wanting to\npreserve the status quo. The local residents in this case seemed to\nthink of the general public as their enemies not as their allies, a\nsituation definitely not helped by the growing litter and\ninfrastructure impacts through overtourism, now affecting many places\nacross the Highlands but with Glen Etive as one of the hotspots.\nNeither Highland Council nor the residents seemed willing or able to\naddress the irony of an absentee laird and a Perthshire based\ndeveloper – neither local or resident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put aside for a minute the fact that some of those key residents in the glen who approved of the new hydros are in tenanted housing, or work directly for the estate doing the work and reaping the subsidies. How would the Public Interest Test called for by Land Commission Scotland decide in this case? Does the subsidy paid to developer and landlord prop up feudal land relationships, or does a community chest of \u00a334,000 pa (about 1% of profits) provide enough equity? It\u2019s a political hot potato. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\nof course, another community had expressed an interest. Hill\nwalkers and mountaineers were joined by kayakers, wild swimmers,\ncampervanners, photographers and a wide-ranging mix of locals, Scots,\nBrits and internationals who may only have parked in a layby or\ncamped on the valley floor but felt a sense of connection to the\nplace and to a wider Scotland as a result. This\ntime, a campaign didn\u2019t originate with the NGO\u2019s – it came\nstraight from the general public, and there were a lot of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All Mhueran, the site for new roads, bridges, powerhouses and pipes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mountaineering\nScotland and others put forward the case that protection of the three\neastern glens was in the National Interest. In this instance, the\ngeneral public clearly felt the same\u2026 but the Highland Council\nverdict might suggest we need to look again at how we communicate\nnatural heritage to decision makers. How can we better showcase the\nbenefits the country accrues from retaining areas of high scenic\nvalue? There is plenty of good data on what our natural heritage is\nworth in terms of visitor spend nationally, but it failed to convince\nbecause it couldn\u2019t be shown to have a local benefit. And at the\nmoment, the natural capital of our scenery is not formally on the\nledger in planning decisions in the way that other, \u2018material\nconditions\u2019 are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly,\nand related to that bigger biodiversity picture, the implications for\nwildlife of seven hydro schemes working on the river as a whole were\nunderplayed. This, despite the campaign group, the River\u2019s Trust\nand others pointing out potential fisheries and Golden Eagle impacts,\nand some councillors asking some fair and informed questions at the\nfinal hearing in March. The prime reason for that seems to have been\nthat Scottish Natural Heritage declined to object to any of the seven\nschemes. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSNH are everyone\u2019s favourite whipping boy. I\u2019ve\nmet some of the staff individually and to a man and woman they all\ncare passionately about their country and its natural heritage, but\nas an organisation they are under pressure and seem often to\nmake political, rather than environmentally based decisions. In the\ncase of Glen Etive, without leadership from the\nstatutory environmental body it was left to the general\npublic, the NGOs, and an overworked and budget restricted Highland\nCouncil to take the lead\u2026 with some messy consequences.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Granite bedrock to be blasted<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Again\n\u2013 what is in the best public interest, in this case? Is it\naddressing climate change with a relatively small 6.5MW contribution\nto the national grid, or does national identity, the visitor economy\nand protecting local biodiversity outweigh this? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\ncocktail is strong enough already, but a planning context is also\ncrucial in beginning to understand the issues. While planning\ndecisions are devolved to local councils, energy is not, and yet\nthere is no overall national energy strategy. In the absence of clear\nleadership, venture capitalists can and do take advantage of\nScotland\u2019s natural energy potential. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\naddition, local planning departments are over worked and under\nresourced just like SNH, and struggle to visit sites to check on\nwhether a development has progressed according to agreed controls.\nThis is why we\u2019ve seen dozens of poorly implemented Hydro schemes –\noften with little or no attempt to restore the landscape or habitat\nafter – springing up in the Highlands. Even basic processes aren\u2019t\nfit for purpose: In the days following the final decision in Glen\nEtive, a scheme in Torridon was resubmitted as a completely new\napplication. Anyone who had expressed an interest in the old one with\nan objection wasn\u2019t notified. We are failing to plan and planning\nto fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking back down the Allt Mheuran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stepping back for a\nsecond, we hear a regular criticism from folk who are quite rightly\nconcerned about climate change. The charge is that lovers of wild\nplaces are only interested in \u2018the views\u2019, to the exclusion of\neverything else. It shuts debate down \u2013 after all, what kind of\nmonster would be selfish enough to choose climate catastrophe over\nromantic notions about rocks and lochs? I might try a different take\non it: \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landscape is not\n‘scenery’. Landscape is<\/em> culture, the home of community. We all\nlive in landscapes, and we share it with wildlife. Landscape is a mix\nof how things look, feel and are\u2026 all of which become Place as\nwe get to know it over time. We use Place to benchmark our own\ninternal journey, and we populate those landscapes with our stories.\nLandscape is both real and material, and a repository of memory. This\nis how landscape becomes both natural and cultural heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, so my fancy talk\nis great in theory, as long as there\u2019s a\nconsensus\u2026 but what happens if others who have at least equal claim\nto a place don\u2019t feel like I do. What happens then? That\u2019s when\nwe need our decision makers to apply that public interest test \u2013\nnot for any particular lobby group, but genuinely looking at what\nserves the general public best \u2013 both for the immediate resident\ncommunity and for wider communities of interest, and with an equal\neye to climate change and our species extinction problem. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nare difficult decisions. We live in difficult times. Were all these\nfactors given due consideration by The Highland Council? Did SNH\nperform their duties effectively in this instance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\ncan\u2019t pretend I didn\u2019t take the Glen Etive decision to heart, but\nlet\u2019s be positive. How might the outdoors community help? We aren\u2019t\ngoing to stop loving landscape \u2013 landscape is<\/em>\nour culture and our community. But we could consider how we might\nhelp some in the resident community to envisage another future. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s\nbegin to talk really seriously about a tourist tax \u2013 it\u2019s almost\ninvisible as a surcharge in many countries in Europe. Many of these\ntaxes are being designed to incentivise lower impact visits; in\nSpain, off peak agrotourism costs the visitor less than a 5-star\nhotel-based summer break. We\u2019d need to make sure this revenue\ncouldn\u2019t be spent on corporate vanity projects and stayed in the\ncommunity (and in Scotland), but it could work here to spread wealth\nto areas feeling the most visitor impact. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nplaces like Glen Etive, why not have a bunk house, made from local\ntimber and built and run by local people? And why not have a\ncampsite, toilets and a car park, paid for with crowdfunding or by\nthat tourist tax and run by the community as a social enterprise,\nwith all profits going back in to that community? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nnot make it a legal condition of landownership over a certain scale\nto improve access and interpretation, providing toilets, litter bins\nand better education for visitors who might need some handholding\nwhen it comes to how to behave outside of the city? The landowner\ncould easily afford a community Ranger or two, and the campsite or\nbunkhouse could provide accommodation for schoolkids doing John Muir\nand Duke of Edinburgh Awards, plus the old-hand NTS volunteers to\nhelp them remove the rhododendron and replant some native species. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The glen at dusk from Allt Mheuran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How\nabout a local store, a caf\u00e9 and even a new pier to bring in produce?\nI don\u2019t know of a kayaker, walker or climber that wouldn\u2019t\nhappily support these\u2026 let alone the Skyfall tourists. With all\nthat activity, there might even be enough young locals around in time\nto start the school again. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nideas don\u2019t have to be superficial sticking plasters, they can\ngenuinely improve the lives of people in small settlements.\nSustainable tourism is becoming big business all over Europe \u2013 the\nJulian Alps being just one example that\u2019s been highlighted to me\nrecently. We outdoor recreators can and should be advocating for\nthese things too\u2026 but we\u2019re so often forced into fast, reactive\nand exhausting fights against developments which sell off our family\nsilver for the short-term gain of a select few. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or,\nif these ideas seem too much like wishful thinking, here\u2019s another;\nall of them could have been paid for with some of the profits from\njust the four schemes on the west side of the glen, as part of a\ncompromise solution. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly,\nthe lairds and their developers are still the elephant in this room.\nIn my view, they make it impossible for any of us \u2013 hill folk or\nlocal folk – to be proactive, to get ahead of the curve. The\nsubsidies on run-of-river Hydro schemes expired at the end of March\n2019, but that magic money tree may well be replaced by another in\ntime. Nothing really changes until we shake their hold over us and\nthe land; heritage which is our children\u2019s inheritance, not ours\nand not theirs. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Fruitful glen of pools and fishes, Glen of hawks, blue eyed, crying” – Gleann Measach Iasgach Linneach – Deirdre of the Sorrows According to Irish mythology, Deirdre and her love Naoise founded Glen Etive after fleeing Ulster. What was a place of refuge has become a place of conflict, where environmental priorities are weighed against each other and land justice issues play out. David Lintern looks at the context and wonders what can be learnt. First, a recap. Last year, developer Dickens Hydro Resources put in planning applications for seven run of river hydro schemes, off every main tributary feeding…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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