Gavin McCrone: Scotland won't be so bonny once it's been sold to the highest bidder

Published on Wednesday 5 August 2009 22:03

PROPOSALS for a major development at the Dall Estate on the south shore of Loch Rannoch raise major issues of both a general and specific nature about economic development in rural Scotland.

The rural economy in the hill and island areas of Scotland is threatened by continued decline in agricultural employment and it was the purpose of a recent committee of inquiry, which I chaired for the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to make recommendations on how this might be tackled.

But the landscape and environment are extremely precious and recommendations about this were also made in our report. These issues are interconnected: tourism is the most important industry in many of these areas and it depends on the quality of the landscape and the preservation of the environment. The proposed development at Rannoch needs to be considered against this background.

No economic development in Scotland should be dismissed without being carefully considered and in this particular case the closure of Rannoch School, from which Malcolm James bought the Dall Estate, was a tragedy for the area's economy. But this proposed development raises major environmental, economic and social issues. It is also of such a scale as to have a colossal impact on a relatively fragile area.

Socially it is important that a development is welcomed by the local community, provides benefit to them and is seen as an asset for the people of Scotland.

So far the local community, at a recent meeting, have made clear their overwhelming opposition to the proposals.

The Scotsman (1 August) reports that the estate would be transformed into a 1.3 billion private playground for the world's super-rich. The cost of a night's stay in the proposed hotel would start at 6,000, some 98 houses costing 1 million each would be built and there would be two 18-hole championship golf courses, a health spa, a concert hall and retail development. An important feature is that it is to be a private club limited to individuals with an asset net worth of 100m. This exclusivity is something that many ordinary people would find extremely distasteful. With a membership fee of 2m, it would not be open to many people living in Scotland.

The impact of this development on the area would be enormous. It would be on a much greater scale than any existing settlement, including Kinloch Rannoch. Yet local benefit would appear to be limited.

A huge construction workforce, estimated at 2,200 would be required and 500 permanent staff. To serve these exclusive clients these would need to be highly trained. Inevitably, the vast majority would be brought in from other areas.

Mr James's consideration of local people seems to leave much to be desired and this is important if a development is to be welcomed in the community. There is a cluster of other houses at Dall, yet according to local reports, Mr James was able to buy the access road that serves these houses from the Forestry Commission without consulting them.

The Loch Rannoch area is classified as a National Scenic Area. The famous Black Wood of Rannoch, one of the last remnants of the Caledonian Pine Forest, which is adjacent to the proposed development, would inevitably be affected. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is also classified as a European Special Area of Conservation.

These designations would be without meaning if a development on this scale were to go ahead without the most thorough and careful consideration.

At present the Forestry Commission makes commendable provision for access to walkers, not only in the Black Wood itself, but in the neighbouring areas of forest, a substantial part of which would be required for the two proposed 18-hole golf courses.

There are rights of way that are frequently used by walkers from Rannoch to Glen Lyon. Presumably Mr James would not want walkers on his exclusive golf courses or, indeed, elsewhere in this development.

The issues raised by this development are of even greater importance than those involved in Donald Trump's development at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire. Access is certainly much less adequate, less labour is available locally, the conservation issues are of major and probably greater importance, the economic benefit needs to be independently assessed.

In my view, these are matters of such importance that they need to be fully examined at a public inquiry.

&#149 Gavin McCrone is a former chief economic adviser at the Scottish Office.