Developers of £60m eco-therapy park deny plan to 'clear site'
dailyrecord.co.ukCampaigners fighting the development of a £60m wellness park in East Ayrshire say that a report on its environmental impact proves the site needs to be protected.A 2020 report attached to the Barony Eco Therapy Park planning application makes reference to the entire site being stripped of vegetation, with the loss of all habitats that have developed on the former mine site.But the developers say that the report was an early preliminary assessment, commissioned soon after they acquired the site and that it bears little resemblance to their current plans.Barony NP submitted a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, Protected Species Surveys and Breeding Bird Surveys from October 2020 as an appendix on an Environmental Impact scoping assessment earlier this year.It stated: “To facilitate the development, it is proposed to clear the site of all vegetation in advance of the construction and landscaping works."It also stated ‘the site is to be cleared and levelled prior to development and re-planted with non-native redwood tree species’.This would, it states, result in the ‘loss of all the habitats present on site’ with a ‘significant negative impact in the medium term in respect of loss of habitats.
However, the scoping assessment does point out that another ecology appraisal had subsequently been undertaken.In February, East Ayrshire Council’s planning committee voted to refuse the application, citing concerns around the effect on the various rare species found on the former coal bing.In 2021, planners had told National Pride that they would not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), despite the significant habitat that had built up in and around the former mining site.
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