Countdown to Sutherland Space Hub welcomed as 'game changer' after Court of Session verdict
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Supporters of a satellite launching facility on the north coast say the countdown can begin after a court decided not to block planning consent for the development.
Space Hub Sutherland is earmarked to go on Melness Crofters' Estate ground at a remote site on the A'Mhoine peninsula.
Clothing tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen is a neighbouring landowner and his company Wildland Ltd petitioned for a judicial review of the planning decision. The company has concerns over the environmental impact of the scheme.
But on Friday the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled that Highland Council had followed correct procedures when granting planning permission for the site in August 2020.
Judge Lord Doherty said that none of the grounds of the legal challenge were “well founded” and added: “Development of the visitor facilities will require a further application for planning permission. At that stage the cumulative environmental impact of SSH and the visitor facilities will require to be assessed.”
The chairwoman of Melness Crofters' Estate (MCE) welcomed the decision not to block planning consent for the spaceport as a "game changer".
Dorothy Pritchard said: "The result is excellent news for Melness Crofters’ Estate and is a game changer for the local community.
"With a declining population and the decommissioning of nearby former nuclear power site Dounreay, MCE sees the space port project as an opportunity to secure the long-term future of the community.
"This decision unlocks investment in a project that will create new job opportunities for the younger generation while also attracting new people and investment to the area.”
MCE now awaits the results of a Land Court hearing which took place at the end of May. If that ruling is also positive, then construction work will begin on Space Hub Sutherland, which received backing from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) in 2018, and became the only spaceport in the UK to win planning permission last year.
The boss of the Scottish aerospace firm that hopes to launch its rockets from the spaceport also welcomed the result of the judicial review.
Orbex chief executive Chris Larmour said Lord Doherty's decision not to overturn planning permission for the spaceport was "extremely positive news" for businesses and communities along the north coast.
Mr Larmour said: "We're especially pleased for the crofters of the Melness Crofters' Estate, who will be able to protect and develop their community with modern jobs.
"Sutherland is still the only UK space port with planning permission and now, with this ruling, the countdown to space launch from the UK can begin."
Orbex, which has a rocket design and manufacturing facility in Forres and design and testing facilities in Denmark, is developing a 19-metre 'microlauncher' commercial orbital rocket called Prime.
The company has previously said that Sutherland Space Hub is perfectly suited to the needs of its Prime launch vehicle.
However, managers of Wildland Ltd said they were "surprised and disappointed" at the ruling.
Wildland chief executive Tim Kirkwood said the land conservation and tourism company's view, and that of many others, remained that the planned spaceport was "completely inappropriate" for an environmentally vulnerable area such as A'Mhoine in north Sutherland, where it is earmarked to be built.
He said: "At this stage we will take time to consider the ruling carefully and decide whether further steps are appropriate to provide the protection so urgently needed."
Mr Kirkwood continued: "We firmly believe that the area and its social and economic fabric is best served by more sympathetic development.
"We accept that some members of the community take a different view.
"Whatever transpires we will continue to work with the communities we are part of to improve economic, social and environmental outcomes for all, whether through direct investment in our own estates or though partnership with companies like NC500 Limited which have drawn visitors and wealth to the entire region.
"And while we fully embrace that people and livelihoods are an essential part of regeneration, we will continually and proudly advocate working with nature as the only sustainable way to achieve this.
"Working against nature in such an area will, we believe, prove to be damaging to its long-term economy as well as the environment."
The spaceport could see an inaugural flight launching from land on the Melness Crofters’ Estate in late 2022.
Related news
