An application to build a golf course on one of the last coastal dune habitats in Scotland has been dealt a blow by NatureScot objecting to the plans.
Developer Communities for Coul (C4C) submitted plans for the 18-hole, championship-standard course to Highland Council in February.
The planning page shows a range of messages in support and objection to the proposals, but the body previously known as Scottish Natural Heritage has warned that they will cause the direct loss of significantly more protected dune habitat within the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) than what has previously been stated by C4C.
The organisation considers that C4C’s recent Environmental Impact Assessment report underplays the adverse impacts of the development on sand dune habitats which are part of the Loch Fleet and Dornoch Firth SSSI and Ramsar site.
This dune habitat on the East Sutherland coast is one of the last of its kind in Scotland and was previously under threat from a very similar golf course application in 2017. Those plans were ultimately turned down by Scottish Ministers in 2020, as they were deemed too damaging to nature to proceed.
The new plans have also been objected to by the seven members of the Conservation Coalition - Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Marine Conservation Society, National Trust for Scotland, Plantlife, RSPB Scotland, and Scottish Wildlife Trust - which also opposed the previous application, due to Coul Link’s location, which supports many rare plants and insects and is a refuge for wintering birds.
Aedán Smith, head of policy and advocacy at RSPB Scotland, said: “Coul Links is so important for nature that it has multiple protection designations and is a completely inappropriate place for a luxury golf course.
“The impacts of the golf course would be hugely damaging and fly in the face of attempts to tackle the nature and climate emergency - we call on Highland Council to refuse this application and save Coul Links from irreparable damage.”
Ruchir Shah, director of external affairs at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “Given the application looks very similar to the previous application to develop the site it isn’t surprising that Nature Scot have once again objected to this proposal, it is welcomed though.
“Highland Council should listen to this valued opinion and refuse this application.”
C4C has stated that the new bid differs from the previous one in several ways, notably a 90% reduction in the area of the Loch Fleet SSSI that would be developed.
This is primarily because it is now intended that the fairways will be created by simply mowing the vegetation already there, similar to the method used at the Machrihanish Dunes course on the Kintyre peninsula, with only tees and greens seeing the natural vegetation disturbed.
The new plans also see an 85% reduction of the use of fertiliser, also limited to the tees and greens only, and the use of 80% less irrigation.
C4C argue not enough is currently being done to protect the Coul Links, which are being destroyed by the spread of invasive species, with the new course helping to bring the funding and expertise required for the long-term management of biodiversity within the dunes.
The developers have also secured the commitment of course developer and environmentalist Mike Keiser to help build the golf course, alongside designers Coore & Crenshaw - although they will only come on board if planning permission is received.
In a recent consultation session, C4C also noted confidence that there will be sufficient accommodation options throughout the Dornoch Firth area.
There are plans to create a "significant number" of new affordable homes within the area, both to buy and rent. This is separate from the golf course proposal and will be the subject of further applications, in discussion with the landowner, in due course.
A new 'eco-hotel' will be built on farmland at Coul, in the format of a turf-roofed collection of crofts. Electric shuttle buses are planned to connect Coul Links with nearby Brora, Golspie, Embo, Dornoch and Tain.
C4C also claims that more than 180 local jobs will be created in an area where it states that depopulation is a major problem.
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