Safeguard the Cairngorms

The Cairngorms National Park, in Scotland, hosts our wildest mountain range, largest native forests and some of our most pristine rivers and lochs. This majestic and beautiful landscape is home to rare and endangered wildlife such as the Wildcat, Red squirrel and Freshwater pearl mussel. Over the years Buglife has been involved in a number of battles with developers and planners to save irreplaceable tracts of this natural wilderness.

Uniting under the banner ‘Safeguard the Cairngorms’, with wildlife charities Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group (BSCG) and The Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP),  we have objected to developments and challenged the legality of some decisions made by The Cairngorms National Park Authority.

We believe that the National Park Authority’s assessment of the potential adverse impacts of these developments was unacceptable. The National Park Authority should have, and was able to, undertake a more rigorous scientific appraisal of impacts on wildlife of international importance than it chose to.

We do not consider that deferring an assessment to the later stages in the planning approval process, which has been the National Park Authority’s approach, will provide the protection that Scotland’s most treasured natural areas should receive.

Springfield Properties, the developer behind An Camas Mor, has announced they have pulled out of their partnership with landowner, the Rothiemurchus Estate. They planned to build a new town, near Aviemore, likely to impact on the sensitive habitats of the Cairngorms National Park. Whilst the Rothiemurchus Estate is to seek a new developer to work with, this is a major set back for this development.

Bilberry bumblebee (Bombus monticola) © S Falk Bilberry bumblebee (Bombus monticola) © S Falk

Help us to stop the extinction of invertebrate species

Become a member

From £3 per month, membership directly supports our vital conservation work. In return you receive member benefits and our bi-annual Buzz magazine.

Membership

Donate to support us

Our work would not be possible without your support. Bees and other invertebrates need help to reverse the catastrophic declines in their numbers. Please donate today and together we can restore vital habitats and rebuild strong populations of invertebrates in the UK.

Make a donation today

Engage with our work

Follow us on the social networks, or sign up to receive our email newsletter so we can you keep you up-to-date with our work