Controversial £2m Peebles forest plan halted after local campaign

Stobo Residents Action Group (SRAG) had alleged the agency had failed to follow the required protocols when assessing the application for the forestry project and highlighted shocking images that show large areas of heather moorland at the site destroyed by herbicide.

The group also argued the plantation, within a secluded glen in the Upper Tweed area of the Scottish Borders and in a designated National Scenic Area, would see the John Buchan Way become a forestry track surrounded by a predominantly sitka spruce plantation, impacting species such as black grouse and golden eagles.

With the Court of Session hearing looming, Scottish Forestry has now confirmed it has taken enforcement action to halt all forestry operations at the site with immediate effect.

It has also torn up the £2 million plus grant contract with True North Real Asset Partners Ltd. for the Stobo woodland creation scheme.

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The move came after an agreement was reached between Stobo Residents Action Group and the government agency that the grant contract for the Stobo woodland creation scheme be cancelled and the screening decision that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was required, be scrapped.

An Environmental Impact Assessment would have looked into the full implications of the plantation development.

The move avoids a court hearing in the Court of Session and outlaws any further forestry development at Stobo Hope until a new decision on consent has been made.

The scheme will now be reviewed again by the government agency. It raises the possibility that, should it be rejected, thousands of recently planted trees at the site may have to be removed and the hillsides restored.

The development has been welcomed by the campaign group, which had claimed up to 40 hectares of the hillside had been sprayed with herbicides.

It said: “We are confident that this will lead to better, more transparent decision-making about sustainable rural land use across Southern Scotland and result in the better use of scarce public funds to support rural communities and protect their natural environment.

“Our campaign hopes that Scottish Forestry will not approve the Stobo Hope woodland creation scheme.”

Despite the developments, however, the group claims that ground preparation work was still continuing at the site earlier this week. It says it has raised it with Scottish Ministers.

The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, managed by the Guernsey-based investment company True North, was handed more than £2 million from the government's forestry grant scheme for creating a woodland in the rural valley.

Scottish Forestry took the decision in January that no Environmental Impact Assessment of the site was required. It gave the go-ahead for the mix of commercial and native tree planting across a 10 square-kilometres area to the north of Peebles.

The area is said to be valuable moorland habitat hosting a wealth of wildlife, traversed by the John Buchan Way and with many features of archaeological interest.

Locals immediately launched a Crowdfunder campaign seeking to raise at least £35,000 for a Judicial Review in the Court of Session, which would challenge the decision.

Scottish Forestry say that in the run up to a court hearing in mid-August, written papers submitted by the campaign group made them aware that the forestry agents acting on behalf of the landowner had carried out extensive blanket herbicide spraying at part of the site prior to submitting their woodland creation application.   

Stobo Residents Action Group launched a legal challenge against the government-backed woodland creation scheme in Peeblesshire (Image: Stobo Residents Action Group)

It adds: “There was a requirement for the forestry agents to inform Scottish Forestry of this work before the woodland project’s screening assessment took place, but this did not happen. 
“This undisclosed information would have been material to Scottish Forestry’s decision making on whether the woodland plan should be classed as a Forestry Environmental Impact Assessment project.

“It has been agreed that the Court be asked to set aside the original decision.”

Scottish Forestry say it will now screen the project again, taking into account the new information on herbicide spraying and all other new relevant information, analysing it and assessing its impact on the environment.

Brendan Callaghan, Director of Operational Delivery at Scottish Forestry said: “As with all woodland creation applications that are submitted to us, we need to have all the relevant information available in order to make informed decisions. 
“Unfortunately with the Stobo application, a material piece of information was not disclosed by the applicant as we started the screening process, where we review the likely environmental effects of the project. 
“In this case we should have been notified of large-scale overall herbicide spraying prior to the application being submitted, so that we could take it into account when we were assessing the project, but in this case we were not informed. 

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“Consequently, Scottish Forestry has taken enforcement action to stop the developer’s work at Stobo so that the woodland creation application and the new information can be reassessed. 

“We would like to thank the Stobo Residents Action Group for bringing this new information to light, during the court proceedings. We hope that in moving forward we can work constructively with all stakeholders including the local community, forestry agents and developers.” 

The campaign group say they embarked on the legal challenge after being left shocked by Scottish Forestry’s decision not to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment at the site despite indications from fellow government agency NatureScot that they were against the proposals.

David Lintott of SRAG said: “It is very difficult to understand. NatureScot is the body charged with looking after nature, parks and scenery and Scottish Forestry should consult with them and take advice.

“NatureScot said this could have significant impacts. To us, it’s inconceivable that an Environment Impact Assessment was not carried out."

He added: "We are not 'anti-woodlands'. But 70% of the planted area was to be spruce and that causes aesthetic and biodiversity harm. Just having it so close to black grouse and protected species is extremely harmful. 

"Planting 700 hectares within a National Scenic Area with significant unintentional consequences but with no Environmental Impact Assessment should not happen."

Harry Humble, CEO of True North Real Asset Partners, said: “We are dismayed that we have been asked to stop work.

“Over the course of three years, we have gone through an extensive, diligent and responsible design and consultation process.

 “We have worked extremely hard to design an environmentally and ecologically sound mixed forest, from a third of the site being retained as open space and 130 hectares planted with native trees to 140 hectares planned specifically to favour black grouse.”