A conservation charity has hit out at a ruling which means that there will
be no cap on the legal expenses they face should they lose their defence of
a judicial review into plans for the Highlands’ largest wind farm to date.
Judges at the Inner House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh last week
heard an appeal from the Scottish Ministers and SSE against the decision
which had overturned a Scottish Government decision giving the go-ahead to
the giant Stronelairg wind farm development in the Monadhliath Mountains
near Loch Ness.
The successful judicial review had been taken by the John Muir Trust. A
decision on the appeal is expected, at the earliest, in a couple of months.
The trust has been refused a Protective Expenses Order that would have
limited its liability for costs in the Inner House of the Court of Session
in the event of losing the main appeal. The judgment was a split decision
with Lady Smith and Lord Brodie finding against the Trust with Lord
Drummond Young supporting the trust’s case.
Stuart Brooks, chief executive for the John Muir Trust said: “While we
await the decision of this latest appeal, it’s disconcerting that the
refusal of a Protective Expenses Order means that in taking on this issue
in the public interest, as was noted in the Judicial Review decision, we
will have to continue to ask members of the public to dig deep into their
pockets to challenge a decision that was ruled unlawful.”
The decision to grant consent by Scottish Ministers went against the advice
of the Scottish Government’s own advisors Scottish Natural Heritage – who
advised that a wind farm should not be built at Stronelairg because of its
wild land qualities.
A SSE spokesperson said: “We agree with the court’s decision not to grant a
Protective Expenses Order to the John Muir Trust. We believe the consent
decision for Stronelairg was lawful. It is a carefully designed project
sited on degraded peatland with the carbon payback estimated to be around
16 months.
“It would sit in a natural upland bowl, would not be seen from the Great
Glen’s key tourist routes, and would be entirely invisible from Loch Ness.
Stronelairg would utilise extensive existing infrastructure at our Glendoe
hydro scheme. The project would bring significant benefits to the local and
wider economy. It was strongly supported by many local stakeholders, was
not opposed by the local community council and was supported by the
Highland Council planning committee.”
The John Muir Trust has been fighting the proposed development since 2012.
The wind farm application was approved by Scottish Ministers in June 2014
less than two weeks before the Scottish Government changed its national
planning policy to afford more protection to wild land.
Plans have been approved for a big electricity substation by Garvamore near
Laggan but it will only be built if the Stronelairg wind farm goes ahead.
0 Comments