Council rejects claims of danger to wildlife

MORAY Council have denied claims that they are carrying out work for the River Findhorn flood alleviation scheme without proper consideration for wildlife.

A number of walkers and local residents have contacted the ‘Gazette’ in the past fortnight to voice their concerns about the scale of woodland being felled by the banks of the River Findhorn. A number have also voiced concern about the local wildlife, with reports of red squirrels, otters and badgers living in the woods, and being displaced.

However, a council spokesman said that surveys have not revealed any protected species and denied reports that a squirrel seen at the weekend was living in a tree scheduled for demolition.

“The council takes its responsibilities with regard to protected species seriously, and have undertaken numerous specialist surveys of the affected area before any work commenced,” said a spokesman. “Naturally, any licenses required have been obtained from the relevant authorities.”

He said that the council undertook a pre-construction survey of wildlife and habitats in 2012 which confirmed earlier work that no active dreys were in the area.

“Naturally squirrels would be sighted in the woodland area but there is no evidence of feeding, active dreys, etc,” he said. “Squirrels do sometimes nest in holes in trees, but there is typically visible external evidence such as protruding grass, twigs and moss where this is happening. Ecologists employed on the scheme have studied the pictures and have noted that there are no such signs in the photos provided.”

They commented after Chris Enticknap from Forres claimed to have witnessed a red squirrel running up and down a tree visiting a drey adjacent to where the trees were being felled on Sunday, and has voiced concern that the animals home was due to be destroyed this week.

“It looked like it was likely to be the next tree for the chop,” he said. “I did wonder if they had stopped short of felling it because they saw the holes in the tree trunk and are not allowed to disturb the animals by law.”

A call by the ‘Gazette’ to Scottish National Heritage confirmed that squirrels are a protected species, and it is against the law to endanger them, kill them, or destroy their habitat. Although a special license can be applied for if it is likely that any of the breaches are likely to occur, such as is likely in the case of a major operation such as a flood scheme. Any license would be applied for and granted following a full investigtion and working between SNH and the Council, with the latter having to carry out frequent surveys, which the council have done.

In a response to the environmental statement issued by SNH back in 2009, the council said that they would carry out the necessary investigations to ascertain if there were protected species in the woodlands.

Meantime, Colin Powell from Tytler Street who walks his dog every morning, has seen otter playing and fishing on the banks of the river, between the Bailie Bridge and the Railway bridge near the Broom of Moy on several occasions. Last spring he saw a mother and a cub and he saw a young otter a few weeks ago.

“We have to take the Council’s word that they are doing the right thing,” he said. “They have told me that the badger setts which they have wired around, are inactive, but I am still worried.”

Chairman of the Broom of Moy Residents Association Steve Allen who objected vociferously to the scale of the plan which involves removing the woodlands said he was aware of the wildlife concerns.

“It’s carnage – but perhaps not totally unexpected when somebody else is footing the bill,” he said. “You have to wonder if because the Scottish Government are paying for it, Moray Council’s consultants have come up with a grandiose scheme, rather than trim amenity woodland, which could perfectly well act as a flood plain for this suggested 1 in 100 year event. Meanwhile, our children will have the extremely unattractive sight of 16 acres of gravel to look at – well, until the Giant Hogweed takes over.”

He said that the Findhorn Railway Bridge has been cleared to three span length claiming that even at high river flow, the river uses half of one span and that the trees and shrubs alongside, which could easily have supported water in a flood event, have been cleared.

“Flood Alleviation planners don’t like trees – they worry some may become uprooted in a flood situation and may cause a blockage,” he said. “So 16 acres of them have to perish, apparently, while the landowners are laughing all the way to the bank. The council will argue that there was a consultation process but it was anything but a consultation, more “this is what we’re going to do” with the fob off offer of some pretty landscaping.”

He said the public enquiry was to find out if the right procedures had been followed by Moray Council who rolled out “experts” from every aspect of the project, funded by taxpayers’ money, to argue against concerns raised by residents.

“The series of bunds being built could have protected the people of Forres for a fraction of the cost of this extravagant scheme,” he said. “The loss of so many trees is unnecessary and shameful.

Meanwhile, the Forres Angling Association said that they are happy that Salmon are not being disturbed by the works. Secretary Campbell Ross said that the FAA have been in very close liason with the Flood Alleviation Consultants and contractors throughout the early processes and up to the start on site.

“We invited both consultants and contractor to our AGM where they were warmly welcomed by the members who thanked them for openly discussing the programme of works and the problem areas,” he said. “The Consultant faced a number of to the point questions which were answered as best they could and the President highlighted that the protection of Forres was paramount in the decision to carry out the works and the details of works agreed with the Moray Council prior to awarding the contract.”

He said that both sides accept that there will be areas where fishing will be restricted and parking could be a problem but the contractors have tried to programme in the best senario for both parties.

“The summer water level will not be touched and shingle/stones will be removed from the sides of the river hopefully resulting in minimal disruption to running fish,” he explained. “It is confirmed that in high water, no work will be carried out to the banks.”

he added: “Trees around the banks are a nice to have as they provide shelter from the strong westerly winds but as these trees are the Riperian Owners responsibilities, we cannot comment. I believe that the trees around the working areas were due to be felled irrespective of the works but this would required to be confirmed by the owners.”

He said that the FAA will monitor the situation as the works progress and if required, request further meetings, otherwise they are content with the planned programme of works.