Not at all cool at Coul

Mark 8 Comments

 

Coul Links. Photo: Alison Searl/RSPB Scotland

You read about this proposed development here back in August 2016 but things are moving on.

 

Media release from Buglife, Plantlife, Marine Conservation Society, Butterfly Conservation, RSPB and Scottish Wildlife Trust.

 

Sutherland golf course proposals more environmentally damaging than Trump’s Aberdeenshire course warn conservationists

Unique Coul Links would be destroyed

An alliance of conservation organisations has submitted a damning objection to proposals to build a golf course on one of the last undeveloped coastal duneland habitats left in Scotland. With less than a month until the planning consultation deadline, Buglife, Butterfly Conservation Scotland, Marine Conservation Society, Plantlife, RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust are urging members of the public to oppose the destruction of Coul Links by submitting their own objections.

Coul Links on the Sutherland coast is home to many species of wildlife, with migrant geese, waders and ducks currently arriving to use the seasonal winter lochs that begin to form at this time of year. Plants found at Coul Links include coral root orchid, purple milk vetch and a rare colony of coastal juniper trees. It is also home to the Fonseca’s seed fly which is only found at a few sites in east Sutherland and nowhere else in the world.

The area’s importance for nature is reflected by national and international protection designations. Despite this, Coul Links has come under threat from plans for a luxury golf course spearheaded by American multi-millionaires Mike Keiser and Todd Warnock.

The conservation organisations warn against repeating the mistakes made in approving the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire almost ten years ago which has destroyed nationally protected dune habitats and seriously damaged Scotland’s international reputation for environmental stewardship. The golf course at Menie was given the go ahead despite huge opposition from the public and conservation organisations.

The proposals for Coul Links have the potential to be even more damaging as they would destroy a significant part of a globally important wildlife site that is internationally protected. This protection is partly based on the unique land form of the site which has developed over thousands of years and once destroyed would be effectively irreplaceable.

While the direct loss of the habitat would be devastating it would also create a damaging ripple effect across the wider protected site, disrupting the natural dune system processes. Interlinked habitats would be broken up, old juniper trees uprooted, and water could be polluted from intensive pesticide and fertiliser use by the golf course. An increase in people at the site would disturb not only the wildlife still there such as curlews and lapwings but also the remaining fragile dune habitat.

In their submission to Highland Council the conservation organisations have also raised concerns about serious flaws in the environmental assessment commissioned by the developers. The predicted impact of the development detailed could have been seriously underestimated and, in practice, be even more devastating than the proposals suggest.

With less than a month to go until comments on the application close on 1st December the alliance is appealing to the public to support its objections by submitting their own responses and for local residents in the Highland Council area to contact their local councillors as well to raise their concerns.

Aedán Smith, Head of Planning and Development at RSPB Scotland, said: “Almost a decade since Donald Trump’s controversial Aberdeenshire golf course was approved, destroying part of a nationally important wildlife site and severely denting Scotland’s environmental reputation, it’s incredible that an even more damaging proposal could come forward.

“There are international obligations to ensure the protection of Coul Links due to its global importance for wildlife. The eyes of the world will therefore once again be on Scotland, and on the Highland Council when they make their planning decision, to see whether we now place more value on our special places.”

Craig Macadam, Director of Buglife Scotland, said: “The dune systems at Coul Links have developed over thousands of year in to an internationally important site for wildlife. As a nation we have a duty to protect these dunes for future generations in the local community, Scotland and further afield. Highland Council must do everything in their power to protect this important natural heritage asset from these damaging development plans.”

Comments can be submitted via the Highland Council website here, or by emailing [email protected]  quoting application reference 17/04601/FUL in the subject line. Further details of how to support the campaign to save Coul Links can be found on RSPB Scotland’s website here.

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8 Replies to “Not at all cool at Coul”

  1. This is at the time with Golf in a massive decline. Many courses will be taken over by developers to build houses on around urban Britain. One of the main reason for this is the lack of youth going into golf. A 18 hole course generally takes 3 hours to go round and how many times will they want to look at their phone in a 3 hour period! Some courses are seeing as much as a 50% drop in subscriptions.Interesting that the course at Machrihanish which is also built on dunes came with the blessing of SNH with only 5% of the area damaged but increase in species present by working with the dunes. Having 3 lads who love the game [one working with wildlife] it is a sad period for the sport.

    1. Issue here is not the state of golf but the massive and irreparable damage this proposal would cause. But if you must consider golf then remind everyone reading this that the internationally renowned links course at Dornoch is 3 or 4 miles to the south and the links course at Golspie is about the same distance to the north. This in the most sparsely populated county in the U.K., there’s is already more than enough golf available here.

      1. So you think the state of golf will add fire to expanding courses! So why did Trump loose money on both his courses in Scotland? A declining industry in golf just adds the fact that no new golf courses are needed as there is no guarantee that any new course can actually make money and certainly not add to the Scottish tourist industry. See which is the fastest growing tourist industry in Scotland – Wildlife Tourism. So if this dune system adds money to this then golf can not take that money away.

  2. First consideration is, is it needed?
    Coul Links Golf website tells us, “… it will result in significant economic benefit to the East Sutherland and national Scottish economy”.
    All good then. But then they would say that wouldn’t they.

    A quick look at the map tells us that there are no less than 9 other courses within 30 miles of the site.
    The closest is Royal Dornoch which has two courses, the Championship and the Struie course.
    True, the course at Bonar Bridge is only nine hole but has been described by Peter Allis as a mini Gleneagles.
    All of these courses are well served by hotels and restaurants locally.
    In a fast declining market for golf, all another course will do is dilute an already well served sport. Since it will have its own hotel and restaurants, I really fail to see how the local economy will benefit.

    What is more likely to happen is a fall in walking and wildlife tourism in the area since it destroy another beautiful, peaceful area away from the busy A9.
    That it is even being considered is unbelievable.

  3. I’m an Aberdonian and so was my father and his parents etc. etc. etc. We have a reputation. These old jokes have a cause, poverty but was Aberdeen more poor than other parts of Scotland? I doubt it. There is no excuse today when this trait appears to be (UK)nationwide, at least amongst politicians.

    Scots motoring to Aberdeen stopped to ask a boy how far away they were. “I’ll tell ye if ye gie me saxpence,” replied the youth. “Drive on we’re there!” said the tourist.

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