Billionaires Anders and Anne Holch Povlsen have asked a senior judge to overturn planning permission for a space port in the Highlands. Lawyers for th

Billionaires challenge Highlands space port plan

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2021-06-08 19:30:07

Billionaires Anders and Anne Holch Povlsen have asked a senior judge to overturn planning permission for a space port in the Highlands.

Lawyers for the Povlsens argued that documents showed Highland Council did not appear to have properly considered the impact that people visiting the site could have on the local environment.

Advocate Malcolm Thomson QC said: "There's nothing about visitor viewing facilities, car parking, nothing of that nature.

"There are the obvious difficulties about keeping people out of the LEZ (launch exclusion zone) - there's no physical demarcation of it."

Public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has proposed building the facility for launching small satellites on the Moine Peninsula, an area of peatland and crofts on the Highlands' north coast.

The impact on the environment, including the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area, and risk to human health were among the reasons for objections.