Calls to stop wind farm in public forest home to Scottish wildcats rejected by Supreme Court
Claims have been made the wildcats in the forest are hybrids - a result of wildcats interbreeding with domestic or feral cats.
Calls to stop more turbines in a forest with a population of wild cats have been rejected by the courts for a third time.
Wildcat Haven, an organisation dedicated to conserving wildcats in the UK, has been fighting against plans for a second wind farm at the Clashindarroch Forest, near Huntly.
The development was granted consent by Scottish ministers in 2023.
The campaign group, a community interest company, first lodged a petition calling for a judicial review into the decision to approve the wind farm. This was rejected by the Court of Session, twice.
Wildcat Haven then lodged a third appeal with the Supreme Court which was rejected this week.
The courts said the applicant did not raise an arguable point of law in its appeal.
Wildcat Haven claims there are 13 wildcats living in the forest which is one of, if not the largest forest in Aberdeenshire. It is also known for its cross-country skiing trails and the Huntly Nordic Ski Club.
Vattenfall, the developer, already has an existing wind farm in the forest. The Swedish company claims the wildcats recorded in its survey work and that of Forestry Land and Scotland and Scottish Wildcat Action have been identified as hybrids - a result of wildcats interbreeding with domestic or feral cats.
Wildcat Haven disputed this claim, with director of the organisation Paul O'Donoghue describing the company’s findings as “truly shocking.”
He said the new 14-turbine development would be “a disaster” for the wildcats, arguing research has shown such developments threaten the species.
Mr O’Donoghue added: “We have been fighting for seven years. The forest is still there, the wildcats are still there and we are prepared to fight for another seven years and longer, to protect those precious wildcat and their beautiful forest home.”
Matt Bacon, Vattenfall’s UK head of onshore wind market development, said: “The Supreme Court decision marks the fourth time this matter has been before the courts, and the consent has been upheld at every level of the UK judicial system.”
He added: “I now look forward to seeing Clashindarroch II build on the success of our existing Clashindarroch wind farm, which has been generating electricity for 10 years with no negative impact on the Scottish wildcat population. Once operational, the wind farm will take Vattenfall’s funding to the local community to over £800,000 annually, as well as funding new projects which will support Scottish wildcats and other species.”
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