Terra Firma Members Alasdair Burnet QC and James Findlay QC successfully represented the respondent and interested party in a Judicial Review by Wildland Ltd against a decision by The Highland Council to grant planning permission to Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to build a vertical launch space port near Dunbuie in Sutherland.

The petitioner objected to the proposed development on a number of grounds including the environmental impact of the proposed visitor centre and the effect on ornithological interests.

Senior counsel for the petitioner submitted that the respondent had erred in law in failing to treat the Space Hub and the visitor facilities as a single integrated development, drawing attention to the danger of ‘salami slicing’ applications for development given that the size, nature, and locations of the visitor facilities had not been identified by HIE and therefore no assessment of their likely environmental impact had been made.

In his decision, Lord Doherty rejected the notion of salami slicing, highlighting the “rational justification for not identifying the proposed location of visitor facilities and for not applying for permission to develop them at this stage.”

When considering the ornithological issues Lord Doherty also found that there was no error of law by the respondent when exercising their planning judgement.

The full decision can be read here.