Lord Burns’ opinion rejects Friends of Loch Etive’s arguments

Argyll and Bute Council’s decision to grant planning permission to Dawnfresh for a fish-farm development on Loch Etive, known as Etive 6, has been upheld by the Court of Session’s Outer House.

Chair of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing (PPSL) Committee, Councillor David Kinniburgh, welcomed the ruling, saying: ‘’We are delighted at this news; in dismissing the Friends of Loch Etive’s petition Lord Burns shows quite clearly that the planning permission granted to Dawnfresh was entirely right and proper.

‘’The council’s planning service works to support sustainable economic growth, supporting the ambitions of developers while protecting the interests of the wider community and the environment.

‘’In granting permission for a development at the Etive 6 site we stipulated, through a section 75 agreement, that this could only happen with the removal of the applicant’s existing fish farm equipment at the Etive 1 and Etive 5 sites, thus consolidating the amount of farming activity on the loch.

‘’It was argued that this would not be achieved, however, Lord Burns has ruled that, once Dawnfresh complied with the section 75 agreement, no fish farm equipment will exist at the two sites, meaning the farming activity is rationalised.’’

In a written opinion on the granting of planning permission and the terms of the section 75 agreement Lord Burns said: ‘’I am unable to conclude that those decisions are illegal, ultra vires or in any way unreasonable. It is not for this court to interfere in the exercise of the planning authority’s discretion in this regard.’’

Notes

The Friends of Loch Etive have the right to appeal this decision in the Inner House.

More detail section 75 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) can be found here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2011/02/21110750/4

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