Scotland Archives - Page 13 of 28

Aberdeen People’s Assembly: Sat 25th May

May 212013

With thanks to Doug Haywood.

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The Aberdeen Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) will be holding a People’s Assembly in the Foyer from 1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. on Saturday 25^th May.

This is a chance for people to come together, share ideas, ask questions and discuss the kind of Scotland that we want to build.

The event is free and speakers will include John Finnie MSP, Susan Archibald the Disability Rights Campaigner, Maggie Chapman a Green Party Councillor, Jill from Aberdeen Against Austerity and Euan Benzie from the local RIC group.

Aberdeen RIC was set up following the national Radical Independence Conference in November last year which agreed a Declaration that is explicit about what we need for the citizens of Scotland.

The UK is the 4^th most unequal country in the developed world. Alistair Darling, head of the NO campaign has said that Labour will cut “tougher and deeper” than Thatcher. No matter who is in power in Westminster, a fairer society will not be on their agenda and the worst of the austerity cuts are still to come.

A YES vote in 2014 is the first step towards a fairer Scotland. This is not just a campaign for independence but a campaign for a better Scotland which we believe can only begin with independence.

We are tired of complaining about Britain – it is time to talk about what Scotland can be.

Scotland can be a participative democracy.

Where no-one’s view is worth more because they have money.
Where financial interests don’t drown out the voices of the people.
Where decision-making belongs to the many and not just an elite.
Where communities are not told what they will be given but decide what they need.
Where our institutions are reformed to include the people in their governance.
Where the media is balanced, education creates active citizens and information is free to all.

Scotland can be a society of equality.

Where poverty is not accepted.
Where pay gaps are small and poverty wages are ended.
Where tax redistributes wealth.
Where no human attribute is a justification for discrimination and prejudice. Where human rights are universal.

Scotland can be a just economy.

Where profit never justifies damaging people and the environment.
Where essential industries are owned by all and not exploited by the few.
Where workers have the right to fair treatment and to defend themselves.
Where industrial democracy makes better businesses.
Where investment is for development, not for speculation.

Scotland can be a great welfare state.

Where the social contract is not between the state and the people but between the people themselves.
Where from cradle to grave society cares for all regardless.
Where delivering more and better social services is the national priority, not austerity.
Where the government of the people is never used to create private wealth.

Scotland can be a good neighbour.

Where we seek to work with nations around the world to resolve global inequality, climate change and conflict.
Where we never join international alliances for exploitation and war.
Where we work to reform and democratise multinational institutions.
Where we see our deeds, our national culture and our values as a message of hope.

Scotland can be a moral nation.

Where mutuality, cooperation and fellowship define our relationships.
Where we are good stewards of our country and hand it on to the next generation in a better state than we inherit it.
Where our values are not dominated by greed, selfishness and disregard for others but by patience, generosity, creativity, peacefulness and a determination to be better.

This is a Scotland which British politics has robbed from the Scottish people. We want it back!

Our future is unknown, which is good. Only in uncertainty can hope and possibility prosper.

We choose the chance to fight for a better Scotland; we reject the offer to endure more of the same indefinitely. We are socialists, feminists, trade unionists, greens. We are from the peace movement, from anti-poverty campaigns, from anti-racists groups. We are community activists, civil liberty campaigners, the equalities movement and more.

This is going to be a lively afternoon and we hope that as many people as possible will come to ask questions and contribute to the conversation.

The Aberdeen People’s Assembly is being held in:

The Foyer,
Marywell Centre,
Marywell Street,
Saturday 25^th May.
1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

For more information check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AberdeenRIC/ or telephone 07813 085896.

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Glory In Gothenberg Waterstones Signing AND Giveaway

Aberdeen City, Featured, History, Sport No Responses »

May 022013

By David Innes.

As every Dons fan knows, 11 May this year will be the thirtieth anniversary of Aberdeen’s historic, memorable and emotional capture of the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in Gothenburg. I think my jacket may be dry now after three decades in the airing cupboard.

It wis an affa nicht o rain. And beer. Even at Swedish prices.

We’re the fans who celebrate success, you see. There are others who mark the jubilee of losing, yes losing, a European final by arranging a dinner. Then again, we’ve never lost a European final.

We’re the last Scottish club to win a European trophy and are the only Scottish club to have a 100% record in winning European finals.

It was Real Madrid who we cuffed too – European fitba royalty, Franco’s team, dumped on its Iberian arse by a team of swaggering Scots loons who played with pride and passion, fuelled by oatcakes and Aitken’s rowies.

Proper mannies’ fitba, if you will.

Never desist from making that known to our critics and foes. It’s your duty. Go to it.

We reviewed Richard Gordon’s marvellous commemorative Glory In Gothenburg when it was published at the end of last year. Some lucky readers won copies in a Voice competition at the time.

Now, courtesy of Black and White Publishing, we have a further two copies, this time of the paperback edition, to give away. We’ll set the prize question during the week leading up to the anniversary celebrations, so look out for it.

Those who can’t wait that long and who are pessimistic about their chances of landing one of our giveaways, can get their hands on a signed copy however. Author Richard Gordon and The Best Penalty Box Defender In The World, according to Sir Alex Ferguson, the blessed skipper and sweeper Willie Miller, the man who held the trophy aloft in cool, gallus trademark one-handed fashion as the bedlam ensued, will be signing copies of the book at Waterstones, Union Bridge, Aberdeen on Thursday 9 May at 1830.

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Zeppelin Over Insch

Aberdeenshire, Featured, History, Information No Responses »

May 022013

Duncan Harley writes about the 1916 terror bombing of the Garioch

In the very early years of the 20th century, the main source of world and home news was via printed newspapers and to a growing extent cinema. There was of course no television, and although radio had been invented its use was largely limited to commercial and military use.

The sinking of the “unsinkable” White Star liner RMS Titanic in April 1912 had led to the wide-scale adoption of Marconi Company radio equipment as a safety feature on passenger ships, but regular broadcasting of news and entertainment via the radio waves was still some years away.

In fact the first continuous radio broadcast in the world was a three hour programme from the American Radio and Research Company in March 1916, but it was only really during the 1920s that new technology in the form of the first vacuum tubes led to the regular broadcasting of news, current affairs and entertainment.

The age of the propaganda film had however arrived, and when Europe was plunged into war in 1914, the governments of the day on all sides of the conflict were quick to seize the opportunities which the new medium offered.

Films were produced to encourage cinema goers to buy war bonds as a patriotic duty, and countless documentaries were made to persuade the public that the war to end all wars was just and right.

Titles such as “A Goal for the Huns”, made in 1916, encouraged shipyard workers to work harder and produce more ships for the Navy, while the 1916 documentary “German Prisoners at Verdun” persuaded those on the home front that the war was already almost won and the complete surrender of “the Hun” and a quick victory was just a few months away.

In the towns and cities of the UK the news was more often than not delivered via daily newspapers and Aberdeenshire had at least two of these, namely the Aberdeen Free Press and the Aberdeen Daily Journal. During the First World War, both titles competed for readers using a heady mix of national and international news interspersed with photos of young and heroic looking troops, in full combat uniform, leaving Aberdeenshire for the trenches in France or the Middle East Front.

Other parts of these news sheets carried sad lists of the dead and missing, often with portraits of them in uniform, which must have been taken prior to departure.

a pretty obvious indication that the war was consuming the nation’s lifeblood at a galloping rate

The editions of these papers for the first week of May 1916 featured articles on Mr Asquith’s amendment to the recently passed Compulsory Enlistment Military Service Bill making it compulsory for all males to enlist on their eighteenth birthday “thus ensuring a constant supply of new recruits”.

Not good news for the young men and a pretty obvious indication that the war was consuming the nation’s lifeblood at a galloping rate.

There were articles on the aftermath of that Irish Easter Rebellion which Yeats so eloquently described in “Easter, 1916” with the now famous conclusive line “A terrible beauty is born.”

Lists of those Irish leaders who had been sentenced to death and then shot for their part in the uprising and even a mention of the trial in Salonika of some members of a group of Bosnian Nationalists implicated in the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria which had been the spark which ignited the conflict in the first place.

The editions of both the Aberdeen Free Press and the Aberdeen Daily Journal for Thursday May 4th 1916 however carried news of a more local nature.

The war had finally arrived on Aberdeenshire’s doorstep in the form of aerial bombing by a German Zeppelin on the night of May 2nd! The headlines screamed “Terrific Noise of Crashing Bombs” and “Zeppelin at Rattray Head” with descriptions of up to 17 bombs having been dropped over the North East of Scotland in the course of the terror raid.

In reality, Zeppelin raids were nothing new to the UK mainland and in fact were quite common over parts of England and the continent, but it had been assumed that the North East of Scotland was well out of range of the raiders whose bases were in the north of Germany some 12 hours flying time away.

The usual targets for the German crews were shipyards and military bases but, as was the case in the second war to end all wars, the art of aerial bombing was uncertain at best and usually quite haphazard resulting in most bombs falling on civilian areas.

There had been a raid on Scotland during the night of April 2nd 1916 consisting of four airships which were targeted to attack the Rosyth naval base and the Forth Rail Bridge.

Travelling at around 45mph the 600ft long Zeppelins crossed the UK coast at various points due to having become separated en-route to the intended targets.

One appeared in the night skies over Leith and Edinburgh city centre dropping bombs which killed ten and caused widespread damage. Following this attack blackout precautions came into force and Scotland’s anti aircraft defences came under review.

Exactly one month later, on 2nd May 1916, the raiders returned. The targets once again were the Forth Rail Bridge and Rosyth Naval Base, but the navigation was disrupted by stormy weather on the journey over the North Sea leading yet again to the airships becoming separated. After a gruelling 12 hour journey only two managed to actually find Scotland at all!

In what now seems a quite farcical series of events the Zeppelin L14, mistook the Firth of Tay for the Firth of Forth and dropped its bombs in a field injuring a horse.

The other, the L20, proceeded north, possibly intending to bomb a secondary target of warships in the Cromarty Firth, eventually making landfall over Rattray Head in Buchan.

The Aberdeen Free Press was somewhat restrained in its report of what happened next, no doubt to do with censorship. “Bombs Dropped in Fields” ran the headline with a description of “some windows in a mansion house and a cotter house” being “broken by the concussion” plus a description some craters in a cornfield.

In fact the raider had bombed Castle Craig near Lumsden, whose occupants had neglected to turn off their newly installed electric lights, before proceeding to Insch where two bombs were dropped in a field at Flinders. Knockenbaird Farm and Freefield House near Old Rayne were also subject to bombing although no-one appears to have been injured and damage appears to have been very minor indeed.

Airships are still in use today almost a century after they were first developed

The Aberdeen Free Press reports indicated that aside from the hapless horse injured near Edinburgh, there had been 36 casualties including nine killed south of the Scottish border by other raiders but that “no person sustained the slightest injury” in the North East.

The House of Commons were duly informed by the Right Honourable Harold Tennant MP Secretary for Scotland that the “17 bombs dropped by the L20 over the Garioch on the night of 2nd May caused little damage.”

A lucky escape indeed for the North East although the events of the second war would prove much less fortunate when Aberdeen suffered repeated bombing from the Luftwaffe, but that is another story.

The eventual fate of the injured horse is not recorded but the outcome for the Zeppelin L20 certainly is. After yet again becoming lost it headed out over the North Sea in an attempt to make landfall in Norway.

The L20 eventually ran out of fuel just off the Norwegian coast near Sandnes.

On May 3rd 1916 The Press Association reported that,

“Zeppelin L20 was reported this morning at 10 o’clock over the Southern part of the Jaederin coast. The aircraft flew slowly towards the north and came nearer and nearer to the coast, which it eventually crossed. It then passed at a low altitude over the country as far as Halsfirth where it came down in the water. The Zeppelin appears to have been damaged and it is reported that the crew jumped out of the gondolas into the sea near Hinna”.

Seemingly most of the German airships crew of 16 survived to fight another day having been rescued by local fishermen. However a Norwegian officer set the wrecked airship aflame with a well placed shot from his flare pistol thus ending what had been a quite farcical episode in the history of aerial warfare.

Sources

World War 1 propaganda film/Pathe news: http://www.britishpathe.com/ww1-news
Aberdeen Free Press, Thursday May 4th 1916
Aberdeen Daily Journal, April 4th and May 4th 1916
Aberdeenshire Peoples Journal, May 6th 1916
Background information: http://www.heraldscotland.com/kaiser-s-plan-blown-off-course
and http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/89975987
Leopard Magazine January 1999
John Duff Scott’s Magazine January 1999
David Fergus Yeats http://www.online-literature.com/frost/779/

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Committed To Life In The Faslane?

Community, Information No Responses »

Apr 292013

Ally Coutts and Jonathan Russell from Aberdeen and District CND urge sympathisers to get involved in Faslane Peace Camp.

With ridding Scotland of Trident weapons high on the political agenda, we are keen to encourage interested and committed people to become part of the Peace Camp community.

The Peace Camp is located close to the Faslane nuclear weapons base on the Clyde and although it’s been occupied for the past thirty years it’s currently facing closure.

This is despite the efforts of four young people who have worked hard to restore the Camp and build a community. These committed activists need others to join them if the Peace Camp is to remain open.

A meeting on the Camp’s future took place on 14 April and it was decided to defer the final decision for a month to see if interest could be drummed up.

To find out more about supporting the Peace Camp or living there, you can contact:

Ally Coutts via mobile 07961 454297 or e-mail faslane30@gmail.com
Julia on mobile 07448 040044 at the Peace Camp.

If you’re interested you can arrange a visit.

High Profile Scientist Launches Better Together Aberdeen

Aberdeen City, News 5 Responses »

Apr 262013

With thanks to Kathryn Russell.

Better Together Aberdeen, part of the pro-UK Better Together campaign, was launched yesterday, Thursday 25 April by Aberdeen’s own world-renowned scientist Professor Hugh Pennington at Aberdeen’s Park Inn Hotel.

This important event in the campaign for Scotland’s future featured North East MSPs and local business and community leaders.

Ahead of the meeting, Professor Pennington said,

“I am delighted to be launching the local Better Together group in Aberdeen. The meeting will be a chance for people to find out how they can get involved in the campaign for a strong Scotland in the UK.

Richard Baker MSP, Better Together Director, said,

“Now that we know the date of the referendum, Better Together are stepping up our campaign. The response we have been getting in Aberdeen has been fantastic; so many local people have expressed their support and wish to remain in the UK. This launch is a chance for local people to get involved in the campaign for a strong Scotland in the UK, regardless of campaigning experience.”

Daniel O’Malley, a youth member of Better Together Aberdeen, added,

“In September 2014 Scots will make the biggest political decision of our lives. Better Together Aberdeen will campaign hard to ensure that local people have the facts to make this decision. We’re looking forward to talking to residents about what separation would mean and signing up more local people to our campaign. Whether you’ve campaigned before or not; if you believe Scotland is stronger as a part of the UK – we need you.”

The event starts at 8pm.

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Pioneering Marine Research Surveys In Hebrides

Community, Featured, Information No Responses »

Apr 222013

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) has announced details of its 2013 surveys, in which volunteers and marine scientists will carry out pioneering research into the lives of whales, dolphins and porpoises off Scotland’s west coast.

The surveys – carried out from the charity’s research yacht Silurian between May and September – will gather data on the numbers and behaviour of whales, dolphins and porpoises, known collectively as cetaceans.

Research findings will support effective conservation of the extraordinary biodiversity to be found in Hebridean waters and future management of cetacean populations, as well as contributing to HWDT’s environmental education work.

Olivia Harries, HWDT Biodiversity Officer, said:-

“Given environmental and climate change, action to monitor and conserve Scotland’s spectacular whales, dolphins and porpoises is more important than ever. With 2013 being the Year of Natural Scotland, we’re keen for people to take part in our surveys.

“Volunteers will effectively become marine mammal scientists during their time with us – contributing directly to knowledge and conservation of cetaceans, and with opportunities to develop new skills and to visit some of the most remote and wild parts of the British Isles.”

The seas off western Scotland are one of the most important European habitats for cetaceans, and have remarkably high levels of biodiversity. The long and complex coastline, interaction of currents and wide variety of habitats provide a rich and diverse environment for marine life, including cetacean species typical of both warm and cold oceans.

Twenty-four species of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been recorded in the region, and many of the species are national and international conservation priorities.

Each survey trip will see up to six volunteers join marine scientists to work onboard Silurian for seven to 10 days. Volunteers will contribute directly to research work, receive training in scientific techniques and in species identification, and gather comprehensive data through acoustic and visual methods.

Photography of dorsal fins will help to identify individual cetaceans, and to build greater understanding of species’ movements and interactions. The high frequency sounds of harbour porpoises and white-beaked dolphins will be recorded using a hydrophone (underwater microphone) and analysed using specialist software.

Until recently, very little was known about Hebridean cetaceans, but HWDT’s work is strengthening knowledge about their distribution, movements, habitats and behaviour.

Over the past 10 years, Silurian has travelled more than 61,000 kilometres surveying Hebridean waters from Islay to Cape Wrath and west of the Western Isles. Key findings include the discovery that the region is home to 55 bottlenose dolphins – the smallest resident population in the UK – and hosts one of the highest densities of harbour porpoise in Europe.

Photo identification work has catalogued 125 minke whales, some of which are thought to stay in Hebridean seas all year round; revealed that the region supports the UK’s only resident population of killer whales, consisting of nine individuals whose conservation status is believed to be critical; and has catalogued over 10,000 basking sharks, with two feeding and breeding hotspots of these gentle giants also discovered.

Without the participation of volunteers, much of this groundbreaking research would not have happened. Volunteer Lars Rumpel said:-

“Those 12 days sailing around the Hebrides changed my life. If I could, I would dedicate my whole life to the aid of nature.”

Despite the diversity and abundance of cetacean species in the Hebrides, there are few management strategies dedicated specifically at ensuring their continued survival in the region. HWDT collects data with the specific purpose of informing policy makers and generating recommendations for effective marine management.

The charity’s data on killer whale, harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphin is being directly applied to current management procedures. White-beaked dolphin, minke whale and basking shark are future priorities for HWDT research, and in coming years these species will also have specific management plans based on HWDT data, to ensure their continued survival in the area.

HWDT is dedicated to enhancing knowledge and understanding of Scotland’s whales, dolphins and porpoises and the Hebridean marine environment through education, research and working within local communities as a basis for the lasting conservation of species and habitats.

Places on the surveys, which depart from Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, are available for 17-26 May and 16-26 September. Participation costs between £900-£1,200, and include accommodation and food onboard Silurian. Income generated supports HWDT’s research programme. For more details call 01688 302620 or visit www.hwdt.org.

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Rare Highland Birds In Spotlight For Conservation Week

Environment, Featured, Information No Responses »

Apr 152013

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Conservation charity Trees for Life is running a new ‘Iconic Birds of the Highlands’ Conservation Week from 25 May to 1 June 2013.
The programme of events offers people the chance to see and learn about the area’s magnificent and rare bird species, and to take part in hands-on habitat restoration work.

Highlights include a day trip to the Isle of Skye to see white-tailed eagles, the UK’s largest bird of prey, and to discover more about the programme that has successfully reintroduced these stunning birds to Scotland’s west and east coasts.

World-famous ornithologist and raptor expert Roy Dennis of BBC Springwatch fame will lead a guided walk at the biodiversity hotspot of Dundreggan near Loch Ness, and will discuss his pioneering osprey and sea eagle projects.

A trip to the world-famous viewing site at Loch Garten will offer the opportunity of fabulous close-up views of nesting ospreys, while a day’s birding with a local expert will include the chance to spot species such as Scottish crossbills and crested tits. There will be an early morning trip to the RSPB’s Corrimony Nature Reserve near Glen Affric to see a spectacular black grouse lek, and a warden from RSPB Corrimony will offer insights into capercaillie and black grouse management.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said:

“The week offers people the chance to see and learn more about the world-class birdlife that inhabits the Highlands, while taking direct conservation action to help restore the habitats of these remarkable species. It will be an inspiring and positive way to spend a week during the Year of Natural Scotland.”

In September 2013, Trees for Life will also run two Conservation Weeks at Corrimony, where the charity is working with the RSPB to restore CaledonianForest and wetland to an area of former conifer plantation. This activity is benefitting a wide range of native birds and other wildlife, and provides an opportunity to observe rare birds in their natural setting.

Trees for Life is Scotland’s leading conservation volunteering charity. Its award-winning Conservation Weeks allow people from varied backgrounds, abilities and experience to help restore the Caledonian Forest to a spectacular wilderness region of 1,000 square miles in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness.

Volunteers must be aged over 18 years old and have reasonable fitness. Weeks in the charity’s tree nursery offer a gentler option.

The ‘Iconic Birds of the Highlands’ week costs £250 or £180 for concessions, all inclusive. For more details, visit www.treesforlife.org.uk, or contact Becky on 01309 691444 or becky@treesforlife.org.uk.

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A Fitba Fans’ Survey

Creative Writing, Opinion, Sport No Responses »

Apr 122013

By Bob Smith.

A national survey o fitba fans
SFA authorities hiv cairry’t oot
Tae see fit fans are thinkin
Fit things fans wid gie the boot
.
Bigger leagues fans div wint
Iss een is tap o their list
Yet the money men in fitba
Say iss idea his nae grist
.
Ae bodie tae rin Scottish fitba
Iss thocht it fair his merit
Lit’s aa hope the heid yins
Aboot iss idea they aa git it
.
Kick aff times they gyang back
Tae 3pm on a Setterday
Nae spread ower the wikk
Jist so’s TV can hae their say
.
The season tae bide the wye it is
Fae August throwe tae May
In Simmer time fowk dee ither things
Than watch their favourites play
.
The cost tae watch a gemme
Shud noo cum doon in price
Iss een the powers aat be
Maun listen tae fans’ advice
.
Fowk dinna wint 12-12-18 leagues
Wi aa its different splits
A plan drawn up bi eejits
Wi a help fae ither gits

Fans they are the lifeblood
O the gemme it’s fer sure
Yet TV companies they dictate
Tae satisfy the fireside viewer
.
A’m auld aneuch tae myn
Fitba afore the ‘ear o ’75
Fin fans hid a bigger league
Gemme’s feenish’t at quarter tae five
.
Fit’s the eese o haen a survey
If fowk’s wishes they dinna heed
A’m feart it’s aa doon tae money
An nae fit puir fans need
.
Bit a wee warnin tae the SFA
An tae chairmen in SPL and SFL
Ignore fans wishes at yer peril
An be telt tae gyang tae hell
.
The fans hiv clearly shown
They think fitba’s in a state
If thingies dinna chynge a’m feart
They’ll nae langer cum throwe the gate
.
A fitba match withoot ony fans
Wid be like Wallace withoot Gromit
An verra seen the gemme wid dee
An T.V. companies wid then hop it
.
So fowks in chairge o oor game
Afore Scottish fitba it git’s lost
Bring in a bigger league noo
An reduce the bliddy cost

The Scottish SPCA Needs You

Featured, Information No Responses »

Apr 122013

With thanks to Mike Flynn.

The Scottish SPCA is appealing to animal lovers to shake a collection tin at their local Tesco store between Friday the 3rd and Sunday the 5th of May.

Taking part is a fantastic way to help Scotland’s animals, even if you can only spare a few hours.

The fundraising team will provide everything you need to get started, including a Scottish SPCA tabard, a collection tin and stickers to hand out.

The Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said:-

“Last year we cared for a staggering 13,327 animals and 2013 is proving to be just as challenging.

“Honey, an extremely thin and injured lurcher, is just one of many animals we’ve rescued this year. This remarkable and brave girl was extremely frightened and needed urgent veterinary care when she was found.

“We were delighted to find Honey the loving new home she deserved after helping her recover from her terrible ordeal. As an animal welfare charity, we receive no government or lottery funding and rely on the generosity of the public to continue our vital work.

“Even if someone can only spare an hour or two to shake a collection tin, their time and efforts would be hugely appreciated. Every pound and penny raised really does make a difference and gives animals in need of our help a second chance in life.”

Anyone who would like to help can contact our fundraising team on 03000 999 999 or email.

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New Lanark – A Mexican Menie?

Environment, Featured, News 3 Responses »

Apr 052013

This will be a familiar story to those Aberdonians who tried and failed to stop the Donald Trump golf development on the Menie Estate North of Aberdeen. By Duncan Harley.

A powerful multi national company files a highly controversial planning application with the local council, debate and consultation takes place and planning consent is granted despite environmental considerations.

Local voices are silenced and the powers that be give the go ahead for the development.

Only this time it’s the UNESCO World Heritage Listed village of New Lanark and the iconic Falls of Clyde which are under threat.

New Lanark is best known as the social experiment set up by Robert Owen. Owen, a social reformer, had seen first hand the results of the abuse of the labour force in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and formed the opinion that better conditions would improve production as well as improving the lives of the workers in the cotton mills.

Robert Owen’s view was that a “permanent cause of distress was to be found in the competition of human labour with machinery and that the only effective remedy was the united action of men and the subordination of machinery.”

Between 1799 and 1813 he improved the lot of the workforce at New Lanark. He introduced educational provision for both children (who formed a significant portion of the workforce) and adults and improved housing and access to basic foodstuffs by pioneering the Cooperative Movement. Street lighting was provided as was free access to medical treatment and state of the art sanitation and water supplies.

The village of New Lanark became a model for social reformers both in the UK and across Europe.

By the 1960’s however the village was under threat from general neglect and the mills finally closed in 1968.

The Lanarkshire County Council of the time seemed largely uninterested in the village and it was only through the work of the New Lanark Association that the buildings and heritage survived. Houses were renovated and over time the village gained a new status as both a living museum to social reform and an historic place to live and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings.

This is a council with a long history of unusual decision making however.

In the 1970’s the Hamilton Palace Grounds were sold off to developers and are now home to such iconic brands such as “Carpet for You World” and “DIY Disaster Planet”.

This despite the land having been left “in perpetuity” to the people of Hamilton by the Duke of Hamilton’s estate.

Also in the 1970’s the council approved the plan to create Strathclyde Park which neatly packaged the flooding of the local marshland habitat of Bothwell Haugh to create a weed infested nitrate rich waterway with a US style fast food “Fun Park”.

Locally the park is known as Junkie world and most folk avoid the place in the summer evenings due to the risk of being run down by joy riders or even mugged.

The industrial heritage of the area was largely ignored and local opinion was also largely ignored. The various layers of local government felt that they new best. Sound familiar?

Then along came a few new industrialists who have promised the area income from open cast mining. The Clyde Valley is now scarred with open cast coal and sand workings. The idea of course is to strip back the topsoil for re-instatement when extraction is complete. However the nature of the process means that woodland, grassland, dykes, copses and hedges are destroyed and wildlife habitat at best interrupted and at worst completely destroyed.

Now it seems that Comex, a Mexican multinational mineral extraction conglomerate have filed an application to expand existing opencast quarrying operations just upstream from New Lanark village at the Falls of Clyde.

The falls are the power source which powered the Robert Owen mills and are a rich habitat as well as an iconic beauty spot. The proposed new opencast workings will be visible from the New Lanark valley and the noise of the extraction machinery will invade the tranquillity of the heritage village.

Comex are of the opinion that the 3.6 million tons of sand and gravel it plans to extract from the countryside beside the falls will have no visual impact. Campaigners completely disagree. Many fear that the potential loss of UNESCO status will further damage the site since the initial 6 year extraction application will no doubt lead to further applications in the future and if the UNESCO listing is withdrawn it makes it more likely that subsequent applications will in fact be approved.

The area is supposedly protected by a series of planning policies. In 2012 it was promoted to a Category 1 Area – representing the highest level of protection against quarrying. But given the history of the local authority in the past and the pressure for inward investment the local’s and protest groups such as Save our Landscapes (SOL) are very concerned to say the least.

Why, I hear you ask, should this matter to the folk of Aberdeen and the North East?

Scotland has a mere four UNESCO listed World Heritage Sites. In no particular order of importance they are St Kilda, New Lanark, Edinburgh Old and New Town and Skara Brae in Orkney.

There are in fact 4.5 if you count the shared listing of the Antonine Wall with Hadrians Wall and the Northern Roman Empire’s Reaches but it may be better to let Alex Salmond sort out that issue sometime in the future.

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes 962 properties worldwide forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

The Criteria for Selection are stringent and loss of listing can occur if the criteria ceases to be met due to changing circumstances or failure of a country’s politicians to protect the site.

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.

These include:

To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius.
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design.
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history and to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.

New Lanark ticks all of the above boxes!

According to UNESCO:-

“Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world’s heritage.”

According to the protest group Save our Landscapes, if the new opencast workings are given the go ahead:-

“The quarry would destroy the landscape that forms the setting of New Lanark and the Falls of Clyde”.

If the situation resonates with you then you may wish to consider e-mailing Michael McGlynn, Head of Planning at South Lanarkshire Council. His e-mail address is planning@southlanarkshire.gov.uk and you should to quote planning ref: CL/12/0525 and give reasons for your concern or objection.

You might also wish to contact your local MSP although you should be aware that Aileen Campbell, MSP for the area, has assured constituents:-

“Historic Scotland are taking their role very seriously.”

This, despite the fact that to date Historic Scotland has done little to intervene apart from stating that the quarrying operations will not be visible from much of the site and that the extraction process by the Mexican quarry firm will only be for six years.

Mexico has 31 UNESCO listed sites including the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino in Baja and the Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila near the Rio Grande River.

I suspect that any Scottish firm wishing to extract minerals from these heritage sites would be subject to ridicule by the Mexican authorities. Let’s hope the local and parliamentary bodies in Scotland see sense on this issue.

Sources:

Save our Landscapes: http://saveourlandscapes.moonfruit.com/#/new-lanark/4555343294
Times Article: http://www.clydesdalesheritage.org.uk/new-lanark-embarrasment/
UNESCO: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list
About New Lanark: http://www.newlanark.org/
Observer, Scottish Town fights for Rights: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/31/new-lanark-heritage-industry-clash
Hamilton Palace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Palace#The_site_today

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