Appendix 12 – Nethy Bridge and Vicinity Community Council response

Cairngorms Nation­al Park Pàirc Nàiseanta a’ Mhon­aidh Ruaidh

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Appendix 12

Nethy Bridge and Vicin­ity Com­munity Coun­cil response

Nethy Bridge & Vicin­ity Com­munity Coun­cil Beaver Con­sulta­tion Response

At our Com­munity Coun­cil meet­ing on the 7^th Septem­ber, we dis­cussed the rein­tro­duc­tion of beavers to the area. Whilst we are aware that their rein­tro­duc­tion can have a pos­it­ive effect in some areas, to improve hab­it­at and alle­vi­ate flood­ing. Hav­ing read the inform­a­tion on your web­site you recog­nise that there can also be undesir­able neg­at­ive impacts.

Our first con­cern is the effect beavers could have on flood defences on the river Spey. This would have a det­ri­ment­al affect on the loc­al farm­ing community.

Should they appear on any of the three trib­u­tar­ies that pass through the vil­lage (Ault­more, Duack and Nethy), whilst there may be areas suit­able; any around the hub of the vil­lage are more likely to have a det­ri­ment­al affect and cre­ate conflict.

To make you aware, we have developed a sub­stan­tial path net­work, which is well used by res­id­ents and tour­ists alike. Any rise in water levels could have a huge impact on this infra­struc­ture. In addi­tion we have sew­er­age treat­ment facil­it­ies loc­ated close to the Duack burn and river Nethy on low lying ground.

We also have play­ing fields used reg­u­larly and they are vital to the con­tinu­ation of the well known and respec­ted Aber­nethy High­land Games. Any rise in water levels would ser­i­ously com­prom­ise the abil­ity to con­tin­ue using these sites. The B970 could also be impacted when passing through this area.

We see from your web­site that you have under­taken detailed sur­veys of suit­able loc­a­tions for beavers to col­on­ise. Would it not be pos­sible and appro­pri­ate at this time, to also under­take a more detailed sur­vey of identi­fy­ing sec­tions of the trib­u­tary sys­tem, which could be unsuit­able due to neg­at­ive impact as described above. Hav­ing this inform­a­tion in advance, would help organ­isa­tions and indi­vidu­als to access suit­able mit­ig­a­tion as quickly as pos­sible, thus sim­pli­fy­ing the pro­cess required to read­ily rem­edy adverse affects.

Nethy Bridge & Vicin­ity Com­munity Council