NATURESCOT has been criticised for signing off £120,000 of taxpayers’ money to a Highland estate for peatland restoration, while also providing subsidies allowing for the burning of heather on overlapping land.
The Ferret’s analysis of government grants – using data obtained through freedom of information requests – found that Tulchan Estate in the Highlands received Scottish Government funds that would have allowed it to both burn and restore areas of the estate. Tulchan Estate was bought by a billionaire and is owned by a company registered in a tax haven.
Our findings have prompted criticism of NatureScot – Scotland’s natural heritage body which oversees the grants – for signing off applications for muirburn subsidies, a controversial and potentially environmentally damaging practice on grouse moors, in close proximity to peatland.
