A peat extraction firm whose damaging business was given a payoff by the UK Government in order to protect vulnerable habitats may now be applying to open a peat factory in Scotland.
 
Recent media speculation has given strong signals that Scotland is the preferred location for the proposal by William Sinclair Horticulture, and this is further fuelled with publication of their interim results today, which state that: “(the) development of an alternative manufacturing and distribution facility…will lead to an even greater advantage over our competitors…”.
 
The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and RSPB Scotland has greeted the idea with outrage, pointing out that the Scottish Government's planning policy explicitly excludes commercial peat cutting on all areas of peatland that have a high level of conservation and natural heritage interest. Such a factory would be supporting a harmful industry with a rapidly declining market demand, which clearly bucks the trend of sustainable political and environmental thinking.
 
By commercially mining peat from lowland bogs for use in gardens, peat extraction is responsible for the destruction of internationally important wildlife habitats, as well as releasing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon naturally stored within the peat into the atmosphere to contribute to climate change and global warming.
 
For these precise reasons William Sinclair Horticulture were paid £9 million by the UK Government to halt their extraction rights at a site in England in order to protect the habitat, and environmental bodies have been campaigning for years to see an end to peat extraction and for peat alternatives to be used instead.
 
Scottish Planning Policy, which is the statement of the Scottish Government's policy on nationally important land use planning matters and was published in February 2010, states in paragraph 230 that: “Commercial peat cutting raises particular environmental concerns, and will only be acceptable in areas of degraded peatland which has been significantly damaged by human activity and where the conservation value is low and restoration is not possible. All areas of peatland that retain a high level of natural heritage conservation interest, archaeological interest or are of value as carbon stores should be protected through development plans and development management decisions.”
 
Johnny Hughes, Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Director of Conservation, said:  “The peat extraction industry has left a legacy of damaged peatlands in Scotland with a huge cost to society in terms of the carbon emissions and loss of wildlife. We do not want to be seen as the country clinging to an outmoded and damaging industry when there are more long term jobs available in delivering peat alternatives.
 
Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “We do not need this outdated and damaging peat extraction industry. It makes no sense to be destroying our valuable peatlands at a time when we have international biodiversity agreements to save peatland habitats and an urgent need to prevent the carbon emissions responsible for climate change. Scotland seems to be being targeted because our commitment to protect our peatland heritage is less robust than that of our neighbours, who are now restoring damaged peatlands for the carbon and biodiversity advantages that this brings. The future must be in promoting alternatives to peat.
 
Mr Hughes added: “Why should Scotland now be home to a factory which is clearly bucking the trend of both political and environmental thinking, which will have devastating consequences for our precious landscape at the expense of continuing an industry which has a declining market demand.
 
The charities underlined that it was contradictory for Scotland to be encouraging a new peat factory when the Scottish Government has clear targets for phasing out peat in gardens and cutting carbon emissions by 42% by 2020. Planning permissions for peat extraction have been revoked in other parts of the UK as the Westminster Government and devolved administrations recognise that peat is more valuable kept in the ground helping conserve biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions.

 
Thanks to increased awareness about the benefits peatlands can bring through their capacity to store carbon, there has been a huge shift in the market with many gardeners no longer using peat in favour of alternatives such as composted bark. 
 
Even if attempts are made to repair the bog after extraction, the end result for the Government's climate change targets is a carbon loss under international climate change accounting rules.
ENDS.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
James Reynolds, RSPB Scotland's Head of Media on 07725065186 or 01313116505 james.reynolds@rspb.org.uk
 
Nicola McGovern, SWT PR Officer 0131 312 4742 nmcgovern@swt.org.uk