Conservation Planner issue 28 - RSPB

Golf course development not
a ‘top Trump’
Major development proposals near Aberdeen have sparked
controversy, not just over the merits and demerits of the
case but also because of the planning issues involved and
the actions of Councils and the Scottish Government.
An application by the American millionaire, Donald Trump,
was made to Aberdeenshire Council for outline consent for
a golfing resort development with 1000 holiday homes and
500 additional houses by the coast at Menie Estate. The
developer’s Environmental Statement conceded that part of
one golf course, sited on the Foveran Links Site of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSI), would destroy important dune
habitats whose ‘near-eradication represents a very severe
impact within the SSSI’. The RSPB, along with many other
organisations and individuals including Scottish Natural
Heritage (SNH), objected on the basis that this destruction
was unacceptable. The developer rejected advice from both
SNH and the RSPB to amend plans to avoid the SSSI. As
well as conflicting with development plan policies on
biodiversity and nature conservation, the proposals
contravened policies on house building in the countryside,
landscape, coastal development, sustainability principles
and others. However, in recommending consent, the
Director of Planning considered that the social and
economic benefits were of national importance and
overrode the adverse environmental impacts.
The Formartine Area Committee followed this
recommendation but the Infrastructure Services Committee
voted for refusal, rejecting an amendment to defer making
a decision to allow time to seek a compromise that might
allow the development to go ahead yet safeguard the SSSI.
Aberdeenshire Council then found that it had no power to
reconsider the decision and, as the developer had
previously ruled out an appeal, it looked as though the
matter was closed. Before a decision notice had been
issued, however, Ministers used their powers under Section
46 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to
call-in the application for their own determination. This is
believed to be the first time that ‘call-in’ powers have been
exercised at such a late stage and following a planning
authority’s passing of a resolution. At the time of writing,
no announcement has been made on whether the
Government will use a public inquiry or another process to
help it decide this case.
Aberdeenshire Council, no longer the planning authority,
then resolved that taking into account all its objectives and
not just those in the Development Plan, it would
recommend to Ministers that they should give consent to
the application. It also revised its scheme of delegation to
ensure that, in future, major planning applications would
be referred to the full Council for final consideration.
Media attention on this case not only centred on the
polarisation between perceived pro- and anti-development
camps but also on the roles of Councillors, Members of the
Scottish Parliament, including the First Minister (who is
also the constituency Member) and the Government’s Chief
Planner. The Chair of the Infrastructure Services Committee
lost his position as a direct result of the case and the
Scottish Parliament’s Local Government & Communities
Committee has taken evidence from these individuals as
part of an inquiry into the matter. It has prompted a huge
number of parliamentary questions about the planning
system and seems set to continue to do so.
For further information go to our website at
www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/sites/scotland/
menie.asp
Golf course development would destroy important dune habitats
Ian Francis