Committee asked to approve planning statement to protect Flow Country & World Heritage Site bid
Members will next week be asked to approve an official planning statement which sets out the practical processes that will be followed to protect The Flow Country from potentially harmful development whilst it is being considered by UNESCO for World Heritage Site status.
This takes into account how the policy context has been updated by National Planning Framework 4, which was adopted on 13 February 2023.
Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Ken Gowans said: “The planning position statement, due to be discussed at next week’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee, aims to provide vitally important protection for Caithness and Sutherland’s Flow Country, which is a site of huge environmental importance.
“This statement is crucial due to the lack of precedent, with no site in Scotland previously nominated for wholly natural World Heritage criteria, nor one in a location where there is so much development pressure, specifically from onshore wind energy and electricity transmission infrastructure.”
The Flow Country World Heritage nomination was submitted to UNESCO on February 1, 2023. As such it progressed from being on the UK’s tentative list of potential World Heritage sites to being a 'candidate’ site.
The Flow Country in Caithness and Sutherland is the most extensive and diverse example of an actively accumulating blanket bog landscape found globally. It contains an exceptional example of the biodiversity found within a blanket bog landscape. The geographical position of The Flow Country and the diversity of habitats result in biological associations unlike any other found globally. Furthermore, its scale and connectivity afford resilience to the ecosystem and the species it contains.
The site’s bid for World Heritage status has the full support of The Highland Council, the Scottish Government and the UK Government.
An assessment mission, which is a visit by representatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and external experts to evaluate the nominated site and discuss the nomination, is scheduled for mid-2023. Following that, the bid will be considered at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in mid-2024 (July) with a decision being made at that time.
The planning position statement, which members are being asked to approve next week, sets out the Council’s position with regards to proposed developments within and outwith the candidate site for the period until the site is either ‘inscribed’ on the World Heritage List or rejected.
Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is to hold a significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. If Development(s) that would threaten the OUV of the site are granted, between submission of the bid and UNESCO’s decision, the bid could be seriously undermined, and the site could be compromised.
Whilst the site is not yet inscribed on the World Heritage List, consideration of the effects of Development on the valuable natural habitats, species and ecosystems of the site remains important.
The only effective and appropriate means of seeking to avoid adverse outcomes for the site is to fully assess the effects of Development. The appropriate means of doing so is on the basis of the World Heritage nomination documentation, using World Heritage specific national planning policy content in National Planning Framework 4 and the UNESCO Impact Assessment Guidance Toolkit.
The planning position statement, which is available at Item 12, sets out the approach that the Council will therefore require for development proposals seeking pre-application advice and the approach it will take to consideration of applications. This aims to ensure that the necessary information is available to consider the effects of proposed development, including any potential impact on the attributes of The Flow Country ‘candidate’ site and its integrity. This will enable protection and preservation of The Flow Country’s Outstanding Universal Value, whilst also enabling appropriate development.
The Flow Country Candidate World Heritage site is identified by the boundary submitted to UNESCO on 1 February 2023 (https://www.theflowcountry.org.uk/assets/Uploads/Revised-boundaries-of-the-nominated-property-reduced3.pdf).