Sutherland Spaceport wants to downsize and relocate parts of the facility
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The Sutherland Spaceport is to submit a second planning application to downsize and relocate some elements of the facility which has already been granted consent to start work.
The proposal of application notice or PAN comes at least 12 weeks prior to a full application which will then be determined at the council’s north planning application committee.
The 2020 application – like the current one – sought to construct a vertical launch spaceport with a launch operations control centre, launch pad complex, antenna park together with roads and fencing.
But the applicant now wants to change four main elements of the original application which entailed two new consultation exercises held last December and earlier this month.
The hoped for changes to the primary site are:
- relocate the range tracking infrastructure to Ben Tongue, which is on a separate site to the east of the main complex
- reduce the size of the launch pad area and minor amendments to the layout of that;
- reduce the area of access track that connects the launch pad to other parts of the spaceport
- reduce the in both the footprint and height of the launch site integration facility (LSIF) and associated yard
- realignment of the access track between the A838 to the LSIF.
Up to 12 launches a year will be permitted from the spaceport, which will include a control centre, 2.5km of road and a launch pad, occupying a total of just over 10 acres of the 740-acre site.
Highland and Islands Enterprise has approved a budget of £17.3m to develop Space Hub Sutherland, including funding from the UK Space Agency and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Planning approval is subject to a set of 34 conditions, including measures to ensure operations are carried out safely and strict protection measures are implemented and monitored to protect the natural environment.
