A LONG-RUNNING campaign by community councillors in Fairlie to be included in a planning group for major developments on the Clyde has borne fruit...after eight years.

David Telford from Fairlie Community Council says the group has been granted membership of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership - and describes it as "a breakthrough moment".

Mr Telford says the community council will now be able to have a bigger say on important, and sometimes controversial, industrial developments on the Firth, after years of being turned down.

 

The News reported in January 2022 that local activists were demanding a voice on the new body to control marine planning.

The partnership is made up of more than 20 organisations and statutory bodies who have a stake in how the Clyde is managed, and has members from sectors including fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, recreation, industry and wildlife conservation.

Mr Telford has long argued that it's crucial for Fairlie, and other community councils in coastal areas on the Clyde, to have a bigger say on future developments in the area.

He said: "This has been an eight year battle to get involved.

"I remember attending the first meeting of it being set up in the Village Hall back in 2016. It is pretty much the equivalent of the local development plan, which provides a blueprint for what is acceptable development-wise on the River Clyde, so it carries a lot of weight.

"We are delighted that Fairlie Community Council have been accepted as members at last.

"There is no arguing against a Clyde Marine Plan once it is set in stone, so it means that we have an opportunity to influence developments before they happen.

"It seems unfair in the past that major industrial developments could be represented on the panel, but community councils couldn't, and thankfully common sense has prevailed."

The partnership's main role is to prepare a marine plan for the Clyde marine region. 

Proposals by Hunterston owner Peel Ports for an oil rig decommissioning facility at the site sparked huge controversy when they were made public in 2018.

Since then the focus at Hunterston has moved on to plans for a dry dock facility, a construction platform for the offshore renewables sector, and a sub-sea cable manufacturing plant.

Mr Telford says he wants the marine plan to be more focussed on tourism promotion than on major industrial developments.

"This is a big thing and something a lot of us have been calling for for some time," he continued.

"There are many vested interests in the Clyde so it is important that we have an opportunity to argue our case as to what is suitable, and what is not suitable. It is really a breakthrough moment for democracy.

"Ideally we want to support more tourism related projects for the Clyde and try and put a stop to developments which we see as inappropriate for Hunterston and elsewhere

"The oil rig decommissioning development which was proposed didn't even require a full scale environmental impact assessment, something we, as a community council, vehemently fought against."

The Clyde Marine Planning Partnership have been contacted for comment.