Item11Appendix2RepresentationsObjection20240155DETAdventurePlayParkCairngorm

CAIRNGORMS NATION­AL PARK AUTHOR­ITY Plan­ning Com­mit­tee Agenda Item 11 Appendix 2 09/08/2024

Agenda Item 11

Appendix 2

2024/0155/DET

Rep­res­ent­a­tions — objection

Emma Green­lees

From: BSCG info Sent: 15 July 2024 23:36 To: Plan­ning Sub­ject: 2024/0155/DET Objec­tion Cat­egor­ies: Com­mit­tee, Request to Speak, Comments

Badenoch & Strath­spey Con­ser­va­tion Group

CNPA Grant­own on Spey 15^th July 2024

Dear Colin Bryans

2024/0155/DET Erec­tion and install­a­tion of adven­ture play equip­ment and asso­ci­ated land­scape and ancil­lary works. Cairngorm Mountain

BSCG objects to the above applic­a­tion. We request the oppor­tun­ity to address the plan­ning com­mit­tee when the applic­a­tion is determined.

Our reas­ons for object­ing include the following:

The con­text of this devel­op­ment is a set­ting of nat­ur­al grandeur, to which people are drawn to be inspired by the moun­tain land­scape and a high qual­ity envir­on­ment. The pro­posed struc­tures would be intrus­ive and detract from people’s exper­i­ence of inspir­ing moun­tain scenery and con­tact with nature.

This high alti­tude and sens­it­ive loc­a­tion is entirely inap­pro­pri­ate for the pro­posed play and oth­er struc­tures. ​‘Dis­ney­fy­ing’ this already-impacted loc­a­tion should be con­sidered as unacceptable.

The pro­posed play struc­tures are large, intrus­ive and inap­pro­pri­ate in the set­ting. They would add sig­ni­fic­antly to the cluttered appear­ance of the Cas area. They are likely to not fare well at this alti­tude and exposed loc­a­tion, may soon require expens­ive main­ten­ance and risk fall­ing rap­idly into disrepair.

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The highly prom­in­ent struc­tures would be harm­ful to the exper­i­ence of many, con­front­ing them at the start and fin­ish of their visit.

Con­sid­er­ing the appro­pri­ate­ness of just one of the play items, the PVC Pil­low meas­ur­ing 14mx10m is highly envir­on­ment­ally unfriendly. Decom­pos­ing PVC leads to micro­plastic particles that are eas­ily trans­por­ted through air and water, end­ing up in liv­ing organ­isms and soil. ​“PVC is con­sidered as the most envir­on­ment­ally dam­aging plastic and one of the most tox­ic sub­stances for inhab­it­ants of our plan­et. From cradle to grave, the PVC life­cycle (pro­duc­tion, use, and dis­pos­al) res­ults in the release of tox­ic, chlor­ine-based chem­ic­als, and it is one of the world’s largest diox­in sources. These tox­ins build up in water, air, and food chains. They cause severe health prob­lems, includ­ing can­cer, immune sys­tem dam­age, and hor­mone dis­rup­tion. Every­one has meas­ur­able levels of chlor­in­ated com­pounds (tox­ins) in their bod­ies” (see Risks Asso­ci­ated with the Pres­ence of Polyvinyl Chlor­ide in the Envir­on­ment and Meth­ods for Its Dis­pos­al and Utilization.Marcin H. Kudz­in, Domin­ika Piwowarska, Nat­aliaFest­inger­Pub­lished online 2023 Dec 28).

The use of PVC for a play item should be con­sidered unac­cept­able on the Hill.

We are con­cerned that the con­clu­sions in the Plan­ning Eco­lo­gic­al Advice Officer’s Eco­logy Report (11^th July) may be over sim­pli­fied. For example, the dis­turbed areas can provide resources such as food and cov­er for pro­tec­ted spe­cies, includ­ing in the breed­ing sea­son. There appears to be inad­equate inform­a­tion on the value of the dis­turbed areas to pro­tec­ted species.

Yours sin­cerely

Gus Jones

Con­vener

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