Spaceport is alien, say protesters
● Group claims plans would put huge area of blanket bog at risk
Plans to build a Scottish spaceport beside protected peatland in the Highlands have been condemned by environmental activists as “reckless”.
The objections follow the official submission of a planning application for Space Hub Sutherland at Melness, which is set to be Europe’s first vertical launch site.
If it is approved, up to 12 launches a year could be made from the site.
Plans to build a rocket-launching spaceport beside a vast tract of protected peatland in the Highlands have been condemned as “reckless” by environmental activists.
The objections follow the official submission of a planning application for Space Hub Sutherland at Melness, near Tongue, which is set to be Europe’s first vertical launch site.
If it is approved, up to 12 launches a year could be made from the site, with rockets carrying small commercial satellites that would typically be used for observation.
Development agency Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said the spaceport could create up to 250 jobs across Scotland, 44 of which would go to local people.
But environmental group Extinction Rebellion said the site’s proximity to the Flow Country, a vast area of boggy peatland in the running for World Heritage Site status, was unacceptable.
Widely considered to be the largest area of blanket bog in the world, it covers about 1,500 square miles and is capable of storing 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – more than every tree in the UK.
Extinction Rebellion said the planned spaceport was “reckless and potentially extremely damaging”, adding it would “put the fragile peatland ecosystem at huge risk, be that through fuel leaks, pollution or explosions”.
Kate Willis, its representative in the Highlands, said the construction of the spaceport was “contradictory” to Highland Council’s declaration of a climate emergency last year.
“Investment must focus on the development of a green low carbon economy and rewilding, particularly in sensitive areas such as the Flow Country,” she added.
The group has joined forces with concerned residents to call for others to object to the development by commenting on its planning application.
David Oxley, director of business growth at HIE, said: “Over the past two years, leading environmental consultants have assessed the impact that launch operations could have on the land and wildlife around the launch site.
“They have advised us on how best to ensure protection, including measures to restore significant areas of peatland that have been damaged by past activity.”