Environmentalists fight local authority in court over industrial site plans

Environmentalists are fighting a local authority in court over plans to turn a public park into an industrial site.

Friends of St Fittick’s Park will attend a hearing in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Monday, where they plan to fight Aberdeen City Council’s plans to turn the park into a site called an Energy Transition Zone (ETZ).

ETZ Ltd is a private sector-led and not-for-profit company spearheading the North East of Scotland’s energy transition ambition, receiving governmental support.

The company’s website says it has a “clear ambition to reposition the region as a globally recognised new and green energy cluster”.

Based in Aberdeen, the company is now facing a backlash from the environmental campaigners, who have been fighting the plans since 2020.

The court is expected to hear evidence from FotE, who are claiming Aberdeen City Council has failed to exercise its duties under the Equality Act 2010, including the failure to conduct an Equalities Impact Assessment, especially given the park is within the top 10% of the Scottish Index of multiple deprivation areas.

Before the court proceedings, campaigners will be joined by supporters from Edinburgh and elsewhere for a short rally outside the Court of Session.

Nathaniel Campbell-Scott-Howells of Torry, Aberdeen, which is where the park is situated, said: “I hope the outcome of the judicial review will be a victory for the people of Torry and the campaign to protect the park.

“We also hope it sparks a national conversation about planning, especially when it comes to energy transition. We have witnessed the relationships between Aberdeen Council, Scottish Government and private interests that appear to usurp any real public control of our land.”

Campaigner Chris Aldred added: “Access to justice in Scotland is prohibitively expensive, and there is no equal right of appeal, thus giving developers an unfair advantage over Scottish communities. It is very encouraging in this context that the judge Lord Fairlie has recognised that there is a case to answer.”

Ishbel Shand, a Friends of St Fittick’s Park campaigner, said: “Aberdeen City Council is a partner in the business plan that created ETZ ltd.

“It has control of the land. It is the planning authority. There was no consultation before St Fittick’s Community Park was rezoned for industry.

“The scheme is, moreover, taxpayer-funded. Surely this is so manifestly unfair that it cannot be legal?”

ETZ Ltd and Aberdeen City Council were contacted for comment.