Mowi Scotland has submitted an appeal to a recent refusal of planning permission for its Loch Hourn salmon farm.
Should the appeal be successful it would grant permission for an additional fish pen to be installed, together with an increase in the farms production capacity by 10%.
“After careful consideration we have concluded there are strong evidence-based grounds to contest the reasons for refusal and, in accordance with the statutory provision, we intend to appeal against the decision,” said Stephen MacIntyre, head of environment at Mowi Scotland.
“In this appeal we present clear evidence and information showing why we believe the decision to refuse planning permission was not consistent with development plan policy nor a proper assessment of the application and Environmental Impact Assessment Report.”
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s (SEPA) assessment of the risk to protected species and seabed habitats posed by the application concludes that it would not pose any significant risk and have issued a varied Controlled Activities Regulations License.
The initial planning permission was recommended for approval by Highland Council planners and received no objections from statutory agencies.
The salmon farm at Loch Hourn has recently been upgraded with fewer, larger pens and currently hosts seven 160 metre circumference circular pens. The farm is currently stocked with juvenile salmon, in line with the planning authority’s limitation of 2500 tonnes of production.
“As we outlined in our planning application the benefits of fewer, larger pens are evident and include reduced visual impacts, operational efficiencies, reduced fish stocking densities and improved health and welfare for our salmon,” MacIntyre explained. “We are pleased that we have been able to commence work to update and modernise the Loch Hourn farm as fish farming in Scotland evolves in response to developing new technology.
“We acknowledge that the planning application resulted in a mix of positive and negative feedback from local residents about the farm that has been operating near the Arnisdale community for the past 30 years.
“Notwithstanding, we expect that development decisions that affect the livelihoods of many local families be evidence-based when considering social, economic and environmental sustainability.”
In July, the Friends of Loch Hourn group won a knife-edge planning committee victory against the Mowi farm's expansion.
Loch Hourn, considered the most fjord-like of Scotland’s west coast sea lochs, sits between the Glenelg peninsula to the north and the inaccessible Knoydart peninsula to the south.
The group of locals commissioned scientific modelling, which showed that the increased numbers of sea lice coming from the farm would not only further endanger wild salmon and trout, but also would adversely affect the vulnerable Loch Hourn population of freshwater pearl mussels.
On top of that, it argued that the slow flushing loch cannot quickly get rid of the chemicals used by the farm to kill lice, which are also toxic to other crustaceans and potentially to swimmers.
On 15 June, its evidence, supported by individual submissions by the Loch Hourn community and The Skye & Lochalsh Rivers Trust, led to a 7 to 6 vote by the Northern Planning committee in Dingwall to reject Mowi’s application, albeit by then reduced to 2,750 tonnes.
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