Stobo Residents Action Group Ltd
8th April 2025Stobo Hope from the air. Spectacular drone footage.
Work on site remains unlawful; Scottish Forestry concede an EIA is needed
We have updated the film for our overview, showing spectacular views of Stobo Hope from the air. We are most grateful to Ted Leeming Photography in providing this drone footage.
Huge public support and our successful judicial review to save Stobo Hope led Scottish Forestry to:
- Cancel the £2 million taxpayer funded forestry grant for the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund and
- Concede that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is now required.
Now, we need your help again – please write to Scottish Ministers, your MSP and Scottish Forestry.
If you live in Scotland – please write to your local MSP and Scottish Ministers, suggesting that Scottish Forestry refuse consent for the Stobo Woodland Creation Scheme.
If you live outside Scotland, you can still help – write to Scottish Forestry and Scottish Ministers.
Tell them why this matters to you. We believe Scottish Forestry should not grant consent due to:
- Permanent negative impacts on the biodiversity and soil health of heather moorlands, unimproved grasslands and wetlands that support many rare and ecologically important species.
- Significant threats to iconic and protected species such as golden eagles and black grouse, which is on the red List of most endangered species in the UK.
- Damage to a designated National Scenic Area, with devastating impact to the historic John Buchan way, our cultural heritage and the recreational experience and enjoyment of this beautiful landscape for local people and visitors to the area.
- Cumulative and long-lasting harm caused by this and neighbouring commercial conifer plantations to the iconic landscape of the Upper Tweed Valley.
Stobo Hope from the air.
Picture courtesy of Ted Leeming Photography (copyright protected).
Scottish Forestry email: [email protected]
If you need to find your local Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) please visit:
https://www.parliament.scot/msps
Scottish Ministers:
https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/
Mairi Gougeon is the cabinet secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands with responsibility for forestry:
Deep peat on herbicide sprayed moorland.
Scottish Forestry incorrectly claimed there was no herbicide spraying on the John Buchan Way.
Scottish Forestry concedes an EIA is required after months of destruction
Scottish Forestry’s failure to concede our judicial review earlier allowed months of further destruction of ecologically valuable habitats through ploughing and scarifying carbon rich soils, drainage of wetlands, extensive roads for lorries, and planting of Sitka spruce. This damage was in addition to hundreds of hectares of herbicide spraying in August 2023, five months before any forestry work was permitted. Scottish Forestry allege they did not notice this herbicide damage for a year, until we provided them with photographs of dead vegetation across large areas of previously purple, heather-clad hills. According to a Freedom of Information request response, Scottish Forestry have seemingly still failed to carry out a comprehensive, formal inspection of the site.
Penvalla, Stobo Hope, with old Scots pine plantation.
Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund lodged Petition for judicial review in December 2024
The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund is managed by True North Real Asset Partners, who contracted forestry agents Euroforest Silviculture, previously called Pryor and Rickett Silviculture.
The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund lodged a Petition for judicial review, arguing Scottish Forestry’s decision to impose an Enforcement Notice to stop work in September 2024 was unlawful. The Enforcement Notice and associated Statement of Reasons describes in detail the extent of destruction and failure by forestry managers to inform Scottish Forestry of the herbicide application and additional tracks. At the time of writing, work on site remains unlawful.
Species-rich marshy grasslands dominated by tufted hair-grass and sharp flowered rush.
Media Coverage
We are grateful to the following authors and publications for their coverage of Stobo Hope.
David Knox, ‘Legal challenge halts £2m forest on black grouse moorlands’, BBC Scotland News, 11 September 2024.
Dr Ruth Tingay, ‘Legal success for Stobo Residents Action Group fighting against commercial forestry project’, Raptor Persecution UK, 11 September 2024.
Sandra Dick, ‘Controversial £2m Peebles forest plan halted after local campaign’, The Herald, 12 September 2024.
Mark Davey, ‘Controversial Stobo Hope forest project brought to a halt’, Border Telegraph, 14 September 2024.
Paul Kelly, ‘Legal challenge by action group halts planting on commercial forest’, Midlothian View, 14 September 2024.
Shooting Times, ‘Campaigners halt £2m forestry on the Border’, Shooting Times and Country Magazine, 25 September 2024.
Martyn McLaughlin, ‘Legal action launched over 700-hectare Scottish Sitka forest after planting work halted’, The Scotsman, 10 December 2024.
Dr Ruth Tingay, ‘Investment Firm applies for judicial review against decision to halt commercial forestry plantation at Stobo Hope, Scottish Borders’, Raptor Persecution UK, 10 December 2024.
RPUK, ‘Stobo Hope – NatureScot refuses licence application by Pryor and Rickett Silviculture to hunt foxes with 19 dogs’ (Guest Blog), Raptor Persecution UK, 13 December 2024.
Brian Donnelly, ‘SNP administration taken to court over new forest row’, The Herald, 14 December 2024.
Nick Kempe, ‘Forestry, finance and nature – the cracks are beginning to show at Stobo Hope’, Parkswatch Scotland, 16 December 2024.
RPUK, ‘Stobo Hope – did GWCT ‘advice’ help avoid an Environmental Impact Assessment on the destruction of black grouse habitat?’ (Guest blog), Raptor Persecution UK, 22 December 2024.
Katharine Hay, ‘Fox hunting licence to protect black grouse rejected for controversial 700-hectare Scottish Sitka forest’, The Scotsman, 26 December 2024.
Shooting Times, ‘Hunting licence to protect black grouse is rejected’, Shooting Times and Country Magazine, 9 January 2025.
Katharine Hay, ‘Controversial 700-hectare Scottish Sitka plantation plans to undergo new impact assessment’, The Scotsman, 26 February 2025.
Vicky Allan, ‘We need timber and to get to Net Zero. Without a greenwash’, The Herald, 18 March, 2025.
Professor Ian Wall, ‘One third of a billion pounds to landowners to plant trees’, The Herald, 19 March 2025.
Vicky Allan, ‘The tree planting scheme taking Scottish Forestry to court’, The Herald, 20 March 2025.
Vicky Allan, ‘Scotland needs new forest environment impact process’, The Herald, 20 March 2025.
Vicky Allan, ‘Scottish Sitka planting schemes created ‘almost by stealth’', The Herald, 6 April 2025.
Native woodland and unimproved grassland, Carrifran.
Credit: Colin McLean Photography (copyright protected).
The Stobo Residents Action Group.