Cause for concern at Loch Long…
Last week, we learned that the Local Government, Empowerment and Planning Minister, Joe FitzPatrick MSP, had intervened in the decision over the planning application of Loch Long Salmon to build what would be the largest salmon farm in Scottish waters at Beinne Reithe near Arrochar. We wrote to express our concern about this rare and troubling move:
Dear Mr FitzPatrick
I write to you from Animal Concern, an independent Scottish charity (SC050422) which campaigns to end animal exploitation and create safeguards against cruelty. We have campaigned in Scotland and across the UK on a broad range of animal welfare issues including factory farming, blood sports, the fur trade, vivisection and wildlife persecution.
The purpose of our correspondence relates to the recent recall of Loch Lomond and Trossachs Planning Board’s decision to reject the application to develop ‘Scotland’s biggest salmon farm’ on Loch Long.
You will not be surprised to know that we have strong objections to the practice of industrial scale salmon farming. However, in the first instance, as Minister for Local Government, Empowerment, and Planning it would undermine two thirds of your ministerial title to overturn a decision that was made with all due process. The residents along Loch Long and its surround have made their feelings on this matter abundantly clear. Animal Concern attended the public meeting in person where the planning authority heard evidence from all stakeholders. Residents and local councillors left the Board in no doubt the development was unanimously unwelcome. There were no local voices that dissented from that view. It is critically important you are aware of the depth of opinion locally on this matter. I know that amongst your responsibilities is National Planning Framework 4. If I can quote from the Framework “support or concern expressed on matters material to planning must be given careful consideration in the determination of development proposals”. We strongly urge you to do so.
My next point would be on some of the technical specifications Loch Long Salmon made during the application process. Whilst the details are not worth relitigating at this point, they were that the development would have a positive not negative carbon footprint, that they are proposing using new ‘safe’ technology, that there is little to no downside to their application. We take the view that Loch Long Salmon have more than a little over played their hand. The view of the Board at the time of the original decision was that their claims were exaggerated, and that the technology proposed is untested here in Scotland. That is indisputably the case, which means greenlighting the application carries significant risk to the areas extensive and fragile biodiversity. These are local characteristics which should be protected from, not imperilled by, a project whose impact is by definition unknown. In the event the applicant’s claims are financially rather than evidence based, and the outcome is environment harm, responsibility will rest exclusively on your shoulders and the damage long term.
I understand that NPF4 requires that you use planning to promote regeneration. The business case that the development would mean additional wealth and job creation for the area is thin. Loch Long Salmon’s own estimate puts the jobs tally at 12. Even assuming this is not a best-case scenario for the purposes of their application we would dispute that this is a price worth paying for a development so universally unpopular. The area represents what many would characterise as unrivalled beauty and the development is unlikely to boost the areas attractiveness to visitors seeking the best of what rural Scotland has to offer. Instead, it is likelier they will look to alternative areas unblemished by a string of salmon farms.
Lastly, if it your view that the decision you are faced with is less a review of whether or not due process was observed or that due regard was given to the criteria against which local planning decisions should be made, and instead is a question of the harms or otherwise of large-scale salmon farming then we would ask you to be cognisant of the following. Salmon farming disrupts natural habitats and places considerable strain on pre-existing marine life. The waste produced by salmon farms, such as excess feed, chemicals, and fecal matter, can lead to water pollution, deplete oxygen levels, and endanger the survival of native fish and other aquatic organisms. Salmon farming results in the proliferation of sea lice and other parasites, which pose a significant threat to wild salmon populations in the vicinity. Wild salmon play a vital role in maintaining the health and genetic diversity of our lochs, and their decline could have far-reaching consequences for the entire eco-system.
We would request that you bear these remarks in mind in your deliberations.
If you would like to help us campaign against this, either by writing to your MSP, local paper or sending a donation to help cover our costs, head to our Support Us page to find out how.