A row has erupted over plans for a new spaceport in the islands.
Planning permission for a spaceport in Scolpaig, North Uist, was awarded by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar last month.
But campaigners Friends of Scolpaig argues that the Comhairle “did not make an unbiased decision” when approving the application.
Hundreds of people had objected and a petition was raised against the plans.
It has now emerged the Scottish Government may now review the decision.
In addition, campaigners are calling for a public inquiry.
Capable of launching suborbital rockets, the Comhairle has hailed the spaceport as an opportunity for new jobs and development.
The campaigning group Friends of Scolpaig, however, has spoken out against the project.
A million-pound investment
In a new statement, they asked “the Scottish Government Planning authorities to now ‘call-in’ this proposed development for their own determination following a full Public Inquiry”.
They highlighted that the planning application was met with “huge opposition”.
“Over 200 written objections were submitted and over 900 people signed a petition against the proposed Spaceport,” they say.
As well as environmental concerns, the statement argues that the Comhairle may have had a conflict of interest in approving the planning application.
The Comhairle has spent almost a million pounds purchasing the land in North Uist.
Friends of Scolpaig claim this means they “may not have the necessary impartiality to make an unbiased decision”.
What could the environmental impacts be?
Friends of Scolpaig have called the area a place of “exceptional natural beauty and biodiversity”.
The spaceport development could cause the “destruction of habitats” and “negative effects on wildlife”, they say.
In addition to the land that would be directly developed on, the rockets would be launched just 2km away from the RSPB’s Balranald nature reserve.
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out as part of the planning application, and the RSPB has said that they “do not think the proposal is likely to have significant adverse impacts on birds and protected areas”.
The Friends of Scolpaig, however, say “considerable time” is needed to “digest” the EIA.
Furthermore, they believe the submitted plans may be just the beginning.
They say they are concerned that “this Spaceport 1 proposal is simply a stalking horse, intended to be significantly scaled up in the future”.
Review decision to be made ‘in due course’
When asked for a response, the Comhairle said that they “will not be making any comment whilst the matter is with the Scottish Government”.
In a statement, the Scottish Government confirmed that “the application has been notified to Scottish Ministers”.
The decision as to whether or not to call in the application for Scolpaig spaceport will be made “in due course”, the spokesperson said.
“It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to provide further comment at this stage.”
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