So glad to see that Galloway Without Pylons is appealing the decision by Lord Lake to dismiss their judicial review.
Note from Paul Swift below
“We are appealing the decision of the Judicial Review and have acquired the services of James Findlay, K.C. This is going to cost around £30,000 so we are asking other groups that are fighting pylons, solar, battery storage and wind farms to consider making a donation.
After various discussions it was decided to go for James Findlay, a double silk, who has the reputation of being the preeminent environmental lawyer in Scotland. He was available to do the “Opinion” with Shaun McPhee, who was on our legal team for the JR, doing most of the leg work.
After assimilating James Findlay’s Opinion and after discussions with a variety of people it was decided to go ahead with the appeal or Reclaiming Motion as it is called.
This is a very important case in Scottish law and would have great repercussions if we won. The Public Inquiry which lasted over 6 weeks was extremely thorough, the Reporters recommended rejection of the KTR application and then the Scottish Ministers overturned it. It is in so many peoples interest that we win this case and then future court cases will be able to cite GWP v ScMinisters as a case reference.
The next step will be for Counsel to work on the grounds of appeal, which will stem largely from part of the Opinion.
James Findlay has agreed to take on the case and I am more confident of a positive outcome with this appeal than the JR.
We retain our Protective Expenses Order so if we lose the max.costs that can be claimed is £5,000 which includes the JR and this appeal in total.
I have just received the Timetable for the Reclaiming Motion and as you can see we won’t hear when the procedural hearing will take place until after 14th July.
We will be now working on the grounds of the appeal which have to be presented by 12th May.
Owing to the importance of this case, other community groups have shown a keen interest and to date £10,000 has been raised from two wind farm organisations fighting wind farms. We need to raise another £15,000 so if you know of any organisation who would benefit from a successful appeal please can you pass on the information and ask them to contact me if they want any further informa
Paul
Galloway Without Pylons
Bank of Scotland
80-22-60
23761760
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