Scottish Government says Brewdog may yet have to repay public cash it took for tree-planting project near Aviemore despite selling land to Oxygen Conservation
Aberdeenshire-based brewer Brewdog is still on the hook for some of the public funding it received for its planned ‘Lost Forest’ tree-planting project.
The company sold the land last month to Oxygen Conservation raising concerns about the fate of £2.7 million in funding, with grants of £1.1 million already paid.
BrewDog’s sale of the Kinrara Estate near Aviemore triggered a process whereby the grant liability may be transferred to the new owner.
If it is not, then as the original recipient of Forestry Grant Scheme funding Brewdog is still liable to repay public money if the scheme fails to meet its obligations.
MSP Rhoda Grant raised concerns over the sale of its much-publicised ‘Lost Forest’ project with rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon.
The project suffered major set-backs. More than 250,000 trees died, around half the Scots pine saplings planted in 2023 failed, and broadleaf sections experienced mortality as high as 95 per cent.
Despite funding being granted in 2020, the first planting did not commence until 2022 with replanting following the high mortality also delayed.
Ms Grant, the Scottish Labour spokesperson on Rural Affairs said: “Brewdog made headlines with its grand environmental promises.
“It received millions of pounds of government support yet now appears to wash its hands of responsibility for the project funded by public money.
“The Lost Forest was marketed as a bold step in tackling climate change, yet it now risks becoming a symbol of greenwashing.”
She added: “The Forestry Grant Scheme is funded by taxpayers and designed to support genuine, sustainable woodland creation. There needs to be accountability of companies who collect public money who then do not honour the terms of the support.”
Mr Gougeon responded, saying: “Forestry Grant Scheme grant recipients are responsible for the maintenance of their new woodland planting and recipients of funding agree to maintain their new woodland creation projects for a period of 20 years.
“On the rare occasion a project fails to establish, grant recipients must repay the funds that were provided to create the new woodland.
“If a land sale transfers ownership of a new woodland creation project that was supported by the Forestry Grant Scheme, the liability for grant repayment rests with the original grant recipient, unless the obligations are formally transferred to a new owner.
“This new owner would enter into their own grant contract with Scottish Forestry to maintain the newly created woodland through to establishment.
“Scottish Forestry is in discussion with the new owners of the Lost Forest project at Kinrara Estate, and they are working through the process of transferring the grant obligations to the new owner.
“Once this transfer is agreed, the new owners will assume liability for any potential repayment of grants should the project fail to meet the Forestry Grant Scheme requirements.
She added: “If no such transfer occurs, this responsibility will remain with the original grant recipient.”