Wildlife activists in plea to golf course developers

ENVIRONMENTAL and wildlife campaigners have written to the American businessmen behind a planned new golf course to claim it would destroy one of Scotland’s last remaining undeveloped coastal dune habitats.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust, RSPB Scotland and two other groups, BugLife and Plantlife Scotland, have come together to campaign against a proposal to build a golf course at Coul Links near Embo in Sutherland.

In a letter to the project’s partners, Mike Keiser and Todd Warnock, they say they have become frustrated at the failure of their advisers to meet them.

They wrote: “It seems inevitable that the current proposals would destroy much of the natural heritage interest of this internationally important and legally-protected wildlife site.

“The site is a unique example of undeveloped coastal dunes and seasonally flooded dune slacks with a wide range of habitat types and species found across the site.”

They point out strict protection through designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as a Special Protection Area and as a wetland of international importance.

Jonathan Hughes, chief executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and a former resident of the area, said: “It’s difficult to explain to those that haven’t visited the links what an exceptional stretch of unspoiled coastline this is.”

Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “It fully deserves its protected status and I am very surprised that it should be under this kind of threat.”

Mr Keiser, who also owns a golf resort in Oregon could not be reached for comment.