Capercaillie win out in Boat of Garten housing battle

The developers behind plans to rejuvenate Boat of Garten which were rejected by the Cairngorms National Park Authority because of their potential impact on capercaillie, have accused the organisation of bullying tactics.

Davall Developments have said they may appeal the decision by the park’s planning committee to refuse permission for plans to build 72 houses, plus five house plots and a primary school site in a wooded area to the west of the village.

The refusal of the scheme, which included a substantial number of affordable homes, was largely based on the impact that so many new residents and their dogs would have on the capercaillie population in the woods.

The need to protect the rare bird contrasted with the need for local affordable housing were a recurring theme in a lengthy presentation and debate before the planning committee in the Boat of Garten Community Hall on Friday.

However, in the end, members voted 11-5 to go with planning officer Andrew Tait’s recommendation of refusal.

Committee member Jaci Douglas moved an amendment to approve the scheme.

As it went against the CNPA’s Local Plan she was repeatedly asked to justify the reason for her proposal by planning committee chairman Duncan Bryden.

Speaking immediately after the decision, Allan Munro, director of Davall, said: "We are extremely disappointed but this matter may well not be finished.

"Obviously we will have to take stock of what was said today and how events went and make a decision with our consultants. An appeal is an area of consideration."

Prior to the hearing, Mr Munro had claimed that the CNPA and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) would "condemn Boat of Garten to a slow inevitable decline" if they carried on opposing the development.

In a later statement, the firm claimed: "Davall’s professional advisors spent many months producing the most exhaustive study ever carried out in a wooded area in the Cairngorms National Park, which resulted in Davall Developments spending in excess of a six figure sum.

They continued: "Despite overwhelming support from the community, the members decided to refuse the application, although Davall feel double standards are being applied in that consent was granted previously for a core footpath through the middle of the woodland, encouraging recreational use by visitors and villagers alike.

"It also became very apparent to us as the meeting progressed that the planning convener was extremely biased in how his questions to the members were framed.

"His endeavours to humiliate a board member who proposed an amendment and recommend the application be granted was, in our mind, a shocking way for a supposed unbiased official to behave and was tantamount to bullying.

"As a result, we now believe that members may be apprehensive in opposing a recommendation being made by officials."

Alison Fielding is vice-chairwoman of Boat of Garten Community Council, who were in favour of the scheme because of the overwhelming need for affordable housing.

She said after the meeting: "I am not surprised at the outcome of events today but I am very disappointed."

She added: "The application included a very high percentage of affordable houses and we really hoped the mitigation proposals could resolve this issue. As a community we wanted to work with all parties to reach an agreement."

Mrs Fielding said that although a working group had identified five possible smaller alternative sites for housing around the village, the same problems over protecting capercaillie would apply.

Wherever people lived in the village, she said, they would want to walk in their woods and take their dogs with them.

Davall Developments proposed to discount five plots, and make 16 affordable houses for rent and 16 affordable houses on a shared equity basis. This equated to 42% of the development being classed as "affordable".

Local MSP Fergus Ewing also backed the scheme in a letter to the committee, stating: "This is an opportunity to sustain the community of Boat of Garten which I hope will be grasped. It will provide a massive number of affordable homes."

He added: "The working group set up recognised that there are no other sites in Boat which could provide anything approaching the same number of homes.

"Indeed in my view as someone who lives in the area, there are no sites available which are without ecology issues and which are suitable for more than a few homes."

He concluded: " I submit, on behalf of my constituents, that this application is essential for the future of Boat of Garten, and to allow generations of young people from Boat to have a reasonable chance to live in their own community."

The scheme was deferred by CNPA officers in January, with the hope that Davall could come back with measures to mitigate the impact of the development on the wood’s capercaillie population which would be acceptable to SNH and CNPA officers.

However, Mr Tait told the committee that this had not been achieved, and he also recommended refusal of the scheme because it was on a site not allocated for housing in the CNPA’s Local Plan, which was adopted last year, and because it would also impact on the local red squirrel population.

For more on this and the national park's planning committee chairman's response see this week's paper - now on sale.

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