Campaigning group Friends of Scolpaig have spoken about their ‘disappointment’ that Scottish Ministers have given Spaceport 1 the go-ahead.
But it was decided not to call the application in for a full review.
Friends of Scolpaig, a campaigning group that objects to the spaceport because of the impact they believe it will have on the surrounding area, says their response to the news is “extreme disappointment”.
The group has previously called for a public inquiry into the planning process.
Now, Friends of Scolpaig member and retired engineer Angus MacNab says they have concerns that the Scottish Government came to the decision not to call in the application too quickly.
‘Not as comprehensive as we would have hoped’
The “volume of documentation was massive” he says – and yet the government delivered their decision “a few days prior to their own deadline”.
“I think what we were expecting was for them to extend the deadline, which they’re allowed to do, but that didn’t happen.”
“There’s a concern that they did not go through this perhaps as comprehensively as we would have hoped.”
‘No issues’ that warrant investigating, says Scottish Government
The Scottish Government, however, says they “carefully considered” the proposal.
They then “concluded that there were no issues that warranted their involvement”.
For Friends of Scolpaig, the lack of a full review is the latest chapter in a story that’s been concerning from the start.
“We believe there’s been a very high degree of secrecy around this application,” says Mr MacNab.
He points out that there was no mention of a spaceport in the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan made for 2018-2023.
“The Local Development Plan is silent. Seven months later, the council applied to themselves for planning consent [for the spaceport].”
‘This is not a backyard project’
Mr MacNab says he doesn’t object to spaceports as a rule.
“We’ve been accused of being NIMBYs – and the answer to that is yes, we are, ” he says.
“We do not want a spaceport in our backyard, but we don’t want it in your backyard. We don’t want it in anybody’s backyard.”
“This is not a backyard project. That’s the key.”
Mr MacNab believes that other sites, further away from populated or protected areas, may not have been given due consideration, as the council had already bought the land.
“A commercial developer wouldn’t ever have done that,” he says. “It all feeds into the idea that this was a done deal from the outset.”
Application process ‘should have been exemplary’
Furthermore, he says, the fact that the council was applying to itself for planning permission meant that “the whole process should have been exemplary” in order to maintain trust.
“It was the exact opposite,” he says.
The Comhairle says that the application was assessed “impartially and with the same level of scrutiny as would be afforded to an application made by any other applicant.”
“The application has been the subject of consultation with a significant number of specialist and statutory bodies.”
They also stressed the opinion of Scottish Government ministers that it was”not considered that the proposal raises issues that require a decision to be taken at a national level”.
‘Bring it out into the open’
As the plans for the spaceport go ahead, Friends of Scolpaig are considering their next move.
“We could go for a judicial review as [opposition groups] did in Sutherland, but that failed. And it means a costly process of going through the legal system.”
Construction for a spaceport in Sutherland began this year. The plans were taken to court by billionaire Anders Povlsen. If he couldn’t fight it, Friends of Scolpaig have little hope that they can.
Another option, Mr Macnab says, would be a formal petition to the Government for a public inquiry.
Over 1,000 people signed an earlier online petition from the group.
“We just want to bring it out into the open a bit more,” Mr MacNab says.
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