A tangled tale of a £2.5m, 1,900-hectare Scottish woodland scheme among the UK's biggest

It is one of the largest planting projects of its kind in the UK, spanning more than 1,900 hectares of the Cairngorms National Park.

The Muckrach woodland scheme is nearing its goal of planting about one million trees on a former moor near Grantown-on-Spey in the Scottish Highlands.

Natural regeneration at the site where Muckrach woodland creation is underway | Calum Campbell

Landowner Calthorpe Estates, a property investment company based in Birmingham, was awarded just over £2.5 million in taxpayers’ money for the tree planting initiative, which is managed by Savills.

But campaigners have questioned how well these publicly-funded planting schemes are regulated, as cracks have been showing in Muckrach’s approach, which developers initially hailed as “an exemplar” for natural capital projects.

Scottish Forestry, the Scottish Government agency responsible for forestry regulation, recently reduced Muckrach’s grant after an area claimed for funding to plant trees was not planted or wrongly planted.

In documents seen by The Scotsman, Savills confirmed some of the site was not planted due to rocky ground, but also because some areas had naturally regenerating trees, after which the company acknowledged there was an “overclaim” for government cash.

The property company said it had not expected as many trees to grow naturally on their own when they started planting the first saplings over a year ago.

Scottish Forestry said areas identified as claimed, but were not planted or wrongly planted, meant the grant was revised and reduced by £9,070 accordingly.

However, land campaigner Nick Kempe, who has visited the estate, claimed Savills “completely understates” the amount of natural regeneration on the site.

In a Freedom of Information request he obtained earlier this year, correspondence between Savills and Scottish Forestry also showed some the trees that had naturally regenerated already had been mounded over by the developer to plant new ones.

Savills said this was done to meet the tree planting targets as per its contract.

Writing in his blog, Mr Kempe, who paid a visit to the site, said: “The claim that ‘there are several areas of natural regeneration on site’ completely understates the truth ... Savills then had to plant trees to meet the conditions of the grant. What a crazy and destructive use of public money.”

A spokesperson for Savills said the planting had been carried out according to Scottish Forestry’s rules and guidance, adding: “Eighteen months after the first trees were planted, nature has been playing her part, aided by a reduction in grazing impacts, resulting in levels of regeneration that have exceeded expectations, naturalising and blurring the lines between regenerating and planted trees in several locations.”

Savills also failed to meet its deadline of October 31 to address multiple concerns over habitat and wildlife damage caused by the planting scheme. The concerns were raised in a report following an inspection by Scottish Forestry earlier last year.

These included planting trees in sensitive areas, including at a lek site, a breeding ground for black grouse, which are a red-listed species in the UK.

Savills claimed the lek site was not identified before trees went in the ground and therefore the area was approved for planting. The company said it was only after planting that Savills forestry team was informed the area was a lek site and has been used in 2024.

Black grouse, which are a red-listed species in Scotland

Former gamekeeper Calum Campbell, however, claimed the site was recorded at least 12 years ago and every year after that. Gamekeepers who worked on the former estate recorded the numbers of black grouse present every year with a grid reference to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Mr Campbell claimed.

Other concerns included the use of bamboo canes instead of wooden droppers on fencing around the site, the latter having proven to be best for preventing bird strikes at the fenced area, where a black cock is reported to have died.

Development works on tracks for vehicles across the former moor without prior planning consent from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) was also reported.

Savills confirmed the removal of trees at the lek site and other locations identified in the Scottish Forestry report are yet to be addressed, with plans to do so at the start of this year, subject to weather conditions and avoiding the bird breeding season.

The company also confirmed the main vehicle track remediation works remain outstanding. A Savills spokesperson said: “The forestry team has had several on-site meetings with the planning team at CNPA [Cairngorms National Park Authority] regarding retrospective planning and specifications for track remediation. It has been agreed with CNPA that revised specifications and timings will be submitted in the early new year.”

Scottish Forestry, citing “practical reasons”, agreed to extend the deadline to March. The agency confirmed it will check the site “when all remedial works have been completed”.

With errors from the start until the near-completion of the planting scheme, Mr Campbell submitted a petition asking the Scottish Government to launch an inquiry into how the forestry agency regulates such schemes and hold a review into how these schemes are implemented and regulated.

The petition, however, was closed after it was discussed at the participation and public petitions committee last month.

MSP Fergus Ewing, who was former secretary for rural economy, said Scottish Forestry already had guidance, statutory duties and enforcement abilities when it comes to planting schemes. No one disagreed with him so it was decided to close the petition.

SNP's Fergus Ewing during First Minster's Questions (FMQ's) at the Scottish Parliament. Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

A Scottish Forestry spokesperson said: “We take our role as regulator very seriously and there are clear standards and guidelines in place for the forestry sector. It is not possible for us to constantly monitor every forest throughout Scotland. However, we do carry out on-site inspections to ensure work is carried out properly.

“Our inspection of this site identified issues and the remedial works required to bring the works up to UKFS and Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) contract standard. This work is being done by agreement by the forestry agent, but we can use the FGS contract to enforce remedial works should that be required.”