Judge rejects birdwatcher’s challenge to power station

A JUDGE has rejected a jobless birdwatcher’s attempt to block plans for a coal-fired power station at Hunterston in Ayrshire.

Lord Brailsford ruled at the Court of Session in Edinburgh that Marco McGinty’s case fell as he did not have a legal “interest” in pursuing the action, and had left it too late to go to court. He also dismissed Mr McGinty’s argument that the Scottish Government had failed to properly advertise the plans.

Mr McGinty, who lives five miles away in Largs, had raised a petition for a judicial review via campaign group Communities Opposed to New Coal at Hunterston (Conch), claiming he used the area for birdwatching.

But Lord Brailsford ruled: “He [Mr McGinty] cannot qualify as having an interest to sue.” Mr McGinty could now face a bill for legal expenses of £30,000.