Wind farm development in Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay is threat to seabird colonies say RSPB Scotland

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB Scotland) is a charitable organisation that works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment. They have been objecting to the Scottish Government decision in 2014 to give consent for four major wind farms in the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. RSPB Scotland has said that the current project would hit seabird colonies and could lead to major declines in the population of gannets, puffins and kittiwakes. 

Initially the charity met with some success in its opposition. However, the court decision in their favour  was later overturned and the RSPB sought a further appeal. Scotland's Court of Session last month refused the application for the case to be sent to the Supreme Court, but the RSPB has now applied directly to the UK's highest court. RSPB Scotland director Anne McCall said: "RSPB Scotland has not taken this decision lightly, however our concerns with the manner in which Scottish ministers' took their decisions in 2014 remain undiminished. 

"Additionally, the issues of the case and the recent inner house judgement extend beyond simply the impacts of these developments on important seabird populations. Therefore due to the implications of this latest decision for many aspects of our work, we felt we had no choice but to apply to the Supreme Court.

"We are hopeful that our application is successful and that we are granted leave to appeal so these important issues of public interest can be considered in detail by the Supreme Court." 

(Kittiwake image from RSPB)