Scotland's Geodiversity Charter

The Forum are disappointed that Scottish Borders Council have given permission for the construction of an effluent disposal pipeline directly adjacent to Siccar Point, despite the high level of objections from across the world and concerns expressed by bodies such as the British Geological Survey and the Geological Society of London, among many others.

Constraints have been imposed by the Planning Department that we hope will mitigate some of the visual impact of the pipeline route down an unstable slope and across the rock platform. The next stage of the process, granting of a discharge licence by SEPA, needs to ensure a high standard of construction and operation to protect the marine environment and the shoreline.

Programme is looking great for our conference, good range of workshops looking at practical examples of how we can work together to take Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter forward, and finishing with a discussion on earth science education in Scotland’s schools. Book now!

Welcome to the latest signatories to the Scottish Geodiversity Charter: City of Edinburgh Council and Mountain Training Scotland. Thanks for signing! It’s not too late to get involved in the Charter, and we hope that many interested parties will be at our conference on 17 November, which will look at taking the Charter forward.

One of the big events of this year’s Shetland Nature Festival was ‘A Blast from the Past!’ – a family fun day at Eshaness based around Shetland’s now extinct 395 million year old volcano. Four enthusiastic volunteers from the Scottish Geodiversity Forum fired festival-goers with passion for all things geological.

The event built on the success of the Volcano Fun Days in Edinburgh and provided activities for little kids and big kids alike. Impressive displays and a huge variety of samples gave visitors the chance to get hands-on with Shetland’s rocks and minerals, and a selection from further afield courtesy of Diana Turner. Dr Beverly Bergman demonstrated how to build a volcano and explode it, and how to model a caldera collapse using flour, balloons and just a splash of glitter! Recent geology graduates Will Moreland and Chris Lofthouse introduced visitors to Shetland’s geological development through maps and specimens and helped youngsters to get creative through geo-art. Those exhausted with all this activity could recruit their strength by making a chocolate world and eating it (!) before enjoying a ‘Lakes and Lava’ walk on Braewick Beach led by Jonathan Swale of Scottish Natural Heritage or exploring a section of Shetland’s volcano along the beautiful Eshaness coast.

Despite some problems due to very poor weather (resulting in a last minute change of venue) the turnout was high for Shetland and participants described the event as ‘Very informative and interesting’ with 100% ranking it as excellent or very good. Comments included:

‘Excellent description of geological history. One cannot hope to remember it all but the description and explanation by Chris built up an appreciation of the history and the evolution to what we see and touch today. Thank you.’

‘Very well thought out event. Appealed to a large variety of age groups. Very informed presenters, wonderfully laid out. Very good way of putting information across with excellent demonstrations and interactive events for bairns and older ones. Thank you so much.’

Shetland Nature Festival is a partnership between Shetland Amenity Trust, the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage and Shetland Islands Council. ‘A Blast from the Past’ was made possible by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Awards for All Scotland scheme. For further information about Geopark Shetland or Shetland Nature Festival visit www.geoparkshetland.org.uk / www.shetlandnaturefestival.co.uk or find us on Facebook.

Geopark Shetland would like to thank Diana, Beverly, Will, Chris, the Braewick Café and the Scottish Geodiversity Forum for all their hard work and support.

Robina Barton, Geopark Shetland

We have submitted a letter of objection  to to the planning application lodged with Scottish Borders Council for the “Installation of pump house and associated works for effluent discharge, Drysdale Old Cambus Cockburnspath”.

We are concerned about many aspects of this proposed development, including (1) the visual impact of the pipeline particularly during installation and on the steep, grass covered slope above the beach, (2) the environmental impact of discharging effluent directly adjacent to Siccar Point, and (3) the loss of economic opportunity from potential developments of local industry that could meet the needs of visitors to Siccar Point.

The story of the proposed development at Siccar Point develops daily. If you want a flavour of developments, I suggest reading these three very contrasting documents that have been posted on the Scottish Borders planning website here. There are many other interesting documents on the website, which now lists almost 300 objections to these plans.

Position statement from Scottish Natural Heritage.

Objection from Alistair & Christine Skinner. Alistair is a retired senior Chartered Civil Engineer and manager with Local Government, Water Authority, and National Consultants. He specialised in waste water discharge and treatment.

Objection from T A Dykes, who farms the land that will be affected by this pipeline.

Since we were alerted to the planning application to install a factory effluent pipe next to Siccar Point 10 days ago, the proposal has attracted world-wide attention and hundreds of objections. Part of the reason for this concern has been a lack of information about what will really happen if this pipeline is built. I hope this brief update will help. If any of the facts are wrong, please contact me and I will correct them.

SICCAR POINT is a unique geological locality, well described elsewhere. It deserves the highest level of protection. The rocks of the Point itself will not be directly affected by the proposal to install a waste pipeline just 200 metres away, outside the boundary of the protected site. However we are highly concerned about potential indirect effects.

DRYSDALES, the company making the planning application, have been a friend of Siccar Point, helping visiting parties over the years and funding recent development of a small carpark. From my personal observation, and reports of others, they currently seem to have a very efficient way of dealing with their solid waste and waste water, including a reed bed. The burn (small stream) they discharge into has appeared clean every time I have seen it. It is suggested that the drive behind this application is a desire to physically expand the factory, and that Drysdales can’t buy adjacent land. So they are intending to build on the reed beds and change the way they deal with their waste. The planning application doesn’t include any of this detail, nor does it need to at this stage. However Drysdales could certainly help by being more upfront with information and explaining why they need to change their waste disposal arrangements.

The SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY have been criticised for a lack of response to the question about what will be discharged into the sea. They do not seem to have made public that the reason they are not responding a great deal at this stage is because, if planning permission is granted, there will be a separate application for a discharge licence, at which time they will put constraints on the design of the pipeline and the level of treatment and filtration that will be required to protect the environment. That is their job.

SCOTTISH NATURAL HERITAGE have also been criticised for not responding more forcefully to protect the unique environment around Siccar Point. Their comments have been restricted to the Site of Special Scientific Interest, and they can see no direct threat to the integrity of these famous rocks. There seems to be a disjoint between what staff can comment on, and the corporate speak of SNH that its purpose is to “promote care for and improvement of the natural heritage” (defined as wildlife, habitats, landscapes and natural beauty). The natural beauty of the coastline at this site will be affected by the pipeline, but SNH is not commenting on this. They should do.

The BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY has now been asked to comment on this proposal, and I hope they will give consideration to the unique geological character of the coast on either side of Siccar Point, as described in the Geological Conservation Review. I think they will also have good advice about the problems associated with installing a pipeline down a steep unstable slope.

The SAVE SICCAR POINT website is run by a local resident. I have met him this week, and believe he has a genuine concern about this planning application not driven by any personal interest beyond what is stated on the website. I understand he has the support of other local people, including neighbouring farmers. His website raises concerns about the danger to Siccar Point and the environment, and he is working incredibly hard to raise awareness of a plan that was going to sail through the planning process with barely a murmur. The website is being updated as new information arises, and he was very responsive when I pointed out minor geological errors.

In summary, we at the Scottish Geodiversity Forum are still very concerned about this planning application, and will be submitting a more detailed objection to it in the next few days. It is unfortunate that there is uncertainty about when a decision about the planning application will be made. The Assistant Planning Officer dealing with the application is now on holiday for two weeks, so it seems likely there is still time for considered responses to be submitted online and by email – the savesiccarpoint.co.uk website has information about how to do this.

Angus Miller, Chair, Scottish Geodiversity Forum

Members of the Forum have been concerned to learn of a planning application to construct an effluent pipe for waste water and vegetable waste very close to Siccar Point, Scotland’s most important geological locality. It isn’t clear what impact this effluent would have on the Point itself, but certainly would be an unsightly scar on a beautiful and wild section of coast that is of great historical and scientific interest. If you are concerned, keep an eye on the Save Siccar Point website which has been set up locally – www.savesiccarpoint.co.uk

Lochaber Geopark is holding a public exhibition of 20 new geological interpretation panels installed during 2011-12 in Lochaber. The panels are located at scenically spectacular viewpoints throughout Lochaber.

The free exhibition runs from Monday 3rd September until Saturday 15th September (not Sunday 9th) in the Ben Nevis Distillery Visitor Centre, Fort William, and will be formally opened by Charles Kennedy MP at 14:30 on 3rd September.

The Travelling Gallery is delighted to present a one person exhibition of new work by Ilana Halperin which will launch during August 2012 in Edinburgh before heading off on a national tour until December.

Ilana Halperin will turn the Travelling Gallery into geological museum – a hall of gems and minerals – exploring geological phenomena around Scotland and within our bodies.

Further information at http://www.travellinggallery.com/

Ilana Halperin