Springbank Quarry, Airdrie – Proposal for Infill Works
We are grateful to anglers from the Airdrie area who have drawn our attention to proposals that appeared recently on the North Lanarkshire Council website for infill works at Springbank Quarry on the outskirts of Airdrie. The long term intention is apparently for the area to be landscaped to incorporate “shallow water bodies” and create an “appropriate recreation and amenity resource” for the local community.
The site includes three flooded quarries which are understood to contain roach, perch, pike and eels, and have for many years served as a free – if not always entirely safe – fishery for nearby anglers.
We have contacted both North Lanarkshire Council and the surveyors who are acting for the developers. We explained local anglers’ concerns that the existing fish populations would be killed off during the infill works, and that there is no indication that the developers envisage providing angling facilities as part of the “recreation and amenity resource” they propose to create.
We therefore asked them about their intentions regarding the rescue and relocation of the current fish stocks before these works commence (among other things, bearing in mind that there may be statutory obligations in relation to the population of European Eels), and provision for angling to continue after the works are complete.
We also offered our assistance, both in terms of advising on how best to configure the new “shallow water bodies” to facilitate safe and effective angling and also by exploring the potential to work with the developers, the Council and the local community to promote angling and perhaps provide coaching for local youngsters.
Our correspondence with the Council and the surveyors has established that the planning process is still at a very early stage. No final decisions have been made. The proposal put to North Lanarkshire Council last year was not itself a planning application but an “EIA Screening Request”, which is a preliminary step in which the developers outline the works they are considering and ask the Council to say whether a statutory Environmental Impact Assessment is required.
If the developers decide to proceed with a formal planning application they will first need to undertake a pre-application consultation with local community groups at a public event/exhibition which would be advertised in the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser at least 7 days in advance.
This will give the community an opportunity to discuss the proposals in detail with the developer to identify and address any local concerns which may influence the scope of the proposals before a planning application is submitted to the Council. The re-introduction of angling facilities at the site could of course be highlighted to the developer at this time.
If a planning application is submitted, there will then be a further opportunity for interested parties to comment on the final proposals. The application would be accompanied by an Environmental Statement (if required) and full details of any restoration scheme (including angling facilities if appropriate). A report will also be included setting out the results of the public consultation and to what degree the proposals were altered following input from the local community.
The Council would then consider the planning application, taking account of the local development plan and other material considerations including the ES details on environmental impacts, consultation responses, and any representations from the local community, before deciding whether or not planning permission should be granted.
The surveyor has written to say that they and the developer would welcome the opportunity to discuss the proposed development with us, and has promised to contact us once they are in a position to provide further details regarding the proposal. We take this as a positive sign, and in the circumstances there seems nothing more that can be done at the moment. We will report progress on the SFCA website in future.
On a related issue, we note that posts have appeared on certain Internet forums suggesting that some individuals intended to take matters into their own hands by removing and relocating fish from these waters. Can we remind anglers that the movement of live fish without statutory consent is illegal (see our previous article on this subject: Fish Movements -Know-the-Law ) and point out the reputational damage – to SFCA and member clubs – that can arise when comments are posted on public forums suggesting that some coarse anglers are not prepared to respect the law on such matters. Please don’t do it!
Ron Woods, Policy Officer
