Hundreds of people have now signed petitions protesting against proposals for seven hydro schemes to be built in Glen Etive.
As well as the petitions, a new pressure group has been formed, entitled SOS – Save Glen Etive, aft er all seven schemes were granted planning consent by Highland councillors last month. But three of the projects – those located within the officially designated Wild Land Area in Glen Etive – are now to be subject to a full review. This followed a sufficient number of councillors backing a motion from lead Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter for a notice of amendment. Therefore, another site visit and debate has been planned for March 20 in relation to these three applications.
Glen Etive had a starring part in both the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall and in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart in 1995. The applications from London-based Dickins Hydro Resources Ltd has drawn the ire of walkers, canoeists, environmentalists and Scottish Mountaineering, all of whom fear the hydro schemes will have a negative visual and environmental impact on what is one of the Highlands’ most iconic glens.