16 March 2004

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has welcomed this morning's announcement by the Deputy Enterprise Minister, Lewis Macdonald, to reject an application to develop a hydro-electricity scheme in the Shieldaig Forest in Wester Ross.

The MCofS President, John Mackenzie, has issued the following statement:

“The Minister's decision recognises the vital importance of one of Scotland's finest mountain areas. We have argued that the Torridon Mountains are an inappropriate place for such a development and we are pleased that the Minister has agreed with that view”.

The MCofS Access and Conservation Officer, Mike Dales, has said:

“This decision demonstrates that the Scottish Executive can be discriminating about where it locates renewable energy developments. It has accepted the argument that whilst the government wishes to encourage renewable energy schemes, there are some places that are extremely special and should not become industrial development sites”.

John Mackenzie made this additional comment:

“It will be argued that this decision is against the local interest, but this is not the case. The MCofS has been supported throughout by the efforts of people in Kinlochewe, Gairloch, Torridon and other surrounding villages who regarded this proposed development as a threat to their businesses and quality of life. It is important to recognise that the Minister's decision comes as a massive relief to many people in Wester Ross who run their own tourism related businesses”.

The developer, Highland Light and Power (HLP), made its first application to develop a hydro scheme in Shieldaig Forest in 1996, and a public inquiry was held in Gairloch the following year. The inquiry process ended in 2000 when, with up to £1M of public investment in the inquiry, and within a week of the final report being published, HLP stopped the process by withdrawing its application. HLP came back with slightly amended plans in 2003, but these received 848 objections within the official consultation period. After eight years of argument and counter-argument, the final decision to reject the proposed scheme was announced this morning.

The Scottish Executive news release, in which they announce their decision, can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2004/03/SEEL292.aspx