More than 20% of Scotland’s landmass is covered by peatlands – forming an important part of our landscape, and cultural and natural heritage.

Peatlands provide several important ecosystem services, not least carbon storage, water filtration and wildlife habitat.

While the majority of peatlands are located in the uplands, away from major population centres, a wide range of development proposals routinely emerge in areas with extensive areas of peat soils. These include wind farms, telecommunication masts, power lines and even space ports.

As the majority of major development proposals relate to renewable energy developments, this creates a tension between protecting valuable habitats and producing green electricity under planning policy. 

Under the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), planning officials are required to give significant weight to addressing global climate and biodiversity issues when appraising development opportunities. Under Policy 5, dealing with peatland, development proposals must protect carbon-rich soils by minimising disturbance, or undertaking restoration when this is unavoidable.

Policy 5 outlines a mitigation hierarchy which all development proposals must adhere to:

  1. Avoid – by removing the impact at the outset;
  2. Minimise – by reducing the impact;
  3. Restore – by repairing damaged habitats; and
  4. Offset – by compensating for residual impact that remains, with preference for on-site to off-site measures.

Any development proposal which will take place on peatland, carbon-rich soils or priority peatland must have a site assessment carried out. Combined with the mitigation hierarchy outlined in Policy 5, these site assessments will form the basis for a Peat Management Plan (PMP) for the development proposal.

These requirements are of upmost importance to developers seeking to undertake projects in peatlands and can be a crucial aspect of a planning application. Developers therefore need to consider the potential impact of a proposed development on peatlands at an early stage, and ensure the mitigation hierarchy is adhered to.

Where peatlands are present, developers should provide landowners with a suitable PMP for their prior approval that aligns with their wider land management objectives.

Galbraith have extensive experience in appraising PMPs for development proposals and would be pleased to discuss your requirements.