Estate development is an insult to all who care about Scottish countryside

Published on Monday 3 August 2009 21:39

I was appalled to read about the proposed development of the Dall Estate on the shores of Loch Rannoch (your report, 1 August). To propose a development exclusively for the super-rich in the current economic climate is an insult to locals and everybody in Scotland.

To expect to convince anybody that Forestry Commission land which was bought with taxpayers' money should be used to create 90 per cent of the site is absurd. This development will do nothing positive for the local community, unless of course the guests are going to get on a bike and pop down to the local shops to buy their breakfast milk and a newspaper. If this development is given the go-ahead, it will destroy the area forever, because it isn't integrated into the local community, doesn't cater for people who are in any way interested in or want to learn about the countryside and is completely out of scale.

As a professional in the construction industry, I accept it would help our industry, but unless local craftsmen are to be found who can remember how to build the seven-storey brochs that were once widespread on highland lochs then – again – this will not help the local community.

If it were a national priority, one would start by finding a site that was big enough, in an area with sufficient population to staff it, near an airport and a motorway. There are plenty of examples of people who have moved into the area and paid similar prices for their properties, improved them using local tradesmen, added positive wetland or other ecological features to the grounds, integrated themselves with the local community and enjoyed Perthshire for what it is and what everyone – locals and visitors alike – wants it to remain. Can't Malcolm James do the same? If he has to "develop" his property, he should limit himself to what he actually owns and create something sustainable and ecologically friendly.

IAN HENDRY

Craiglockhart Gardens

Edinburgh

The extraordinary proposed development of the Dall Estate raises crucial questions about the future of Scotland's wild places.

The scheme proposes converting a large part of a national scenic area in rural central Perthshire into an exclusive resort for the super-rich, dwarfing all other communities within a 20-mile radius.

This tranquil area is currently enjoyed by cyclists, walkers, campers and fishermen and is home to many wild species including red squirrels and eagles. The local community, at a recent public meeting, was overwhelmingly against the scheme.

The recent economic turmoil shows the utter folly of entrusting valuable assets to risky high-finance enterprises. The development needed for this sensitive area should enhance and preserve its benefits for the whole population of Scotland, not change it forever and lock it away for the possible indulgence of a few super-wealthy visitors.

The time has come for all those who know and value the Scottish countryside to say to planners and politicians: "enough is enough" and to stand up for the shared use of Scotland's unique wild places, before the interests of local ecology, local community and the multitude of visiting users are again "trumped" by the steamroller of unsympathetic big-money development for the benefit of the few.

(DR) J ALASTAIR INNES

Dall

Rannoch, Perthshire

Your report suggests that the development of a billionaire's paradise at Loch Rannoch might restrict public access to this scenic area of Scotland. Have neither the prospective developers nor the John Muir Trust heard of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act or the Scottish government's Outdoor Access Code?

Under the provisions of this forward-looking legislation, the proposed development would not restrict public access to the area nor prevent what the Scottish Government describes as "wild camping" in the area. We may often be sceptical of the motives of our politicians, but they certainly got this one right.

JAMES D BROWN

Burnside Road

Elgin