Objectors value site visit on future of Glen Etive
Mountaineers have welcomed news that councillors have taken time to visit one of Scotland’s most famous glens before deciding whether to approve plans to install multiple hydro schemes throughout the area.
Seven applications have been submitted to build hydro schemes on both sides of Glen Etive – which is currently designated as a National Scenic Area. Each will involve new road construction, bridge-building, trench digging, cement-pouring and power cabling, for a relatively low power output.
The planning committee met yesterday (Wednesday February 20) to decide on the applications, after the Lochaber Times went to print.
The schemes form a separate application to that of Glen Hydro, which plans to build a run-of-river scheme near Inverigan, Glencoe.
There has been significant opposition to the developments, with objectors claiming the developments would affect the water supply to the popular Inbhirfhaolain mountain hut in the glen, which belongs to the Dundee-based Grampian Club and has provided shelter to mountaineers in the area since 1961. The schemes also lie within the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area, the Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area and within Wild Land Area 9 Loch Etive Mountains.
Members of Highland Council’s planning committee will now visit the glen before making a decision on the application, a move which Mountaineering Scotland said shows councillors are seriously considering the impact of the schemes.
Stuart Younie, Mountaineering Scotland CEO, said: ‘We challenged the council on its stewardship of Glen Etive and urged it to look at the whole picture rather than treating each application in isolation, so it is encouraging to see the councillors visit the glen in person.’
Davie Black, access and conservation officer with Mountaineering Scotland, said: ‘We trust the committee members will appreciate the value of our wild mountain landscapes and reject development that damages the integrity of that landscape.’