The Sutherland Spaceport Decision to Start Construction Might be Facing Some Controversy

Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife Anne are opposing the development of the planned Space Hub Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. Mr Povlsen is one of the richest men in the country.

What is the Reason they Oppose the Sutherland Spaceport Project?

The couple happens to own the land near the planned launch site and they have a few concerns regarding the construction process. They even involved their company, Wildland Ltd, to try to seek a judicial review on the permit that saw the approval of the Space Hub Sutherland Spaceport construction.

The concerns were that the development of the Sutherland Spaceport would negatively impact the surroundings and the health of nearby residents.

The Approvals the Sutherland Spaceport Has

With the projections of creating new jobs for the region and widening of the Scottish space market, the Public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise submitted a planning application which attracted quite a number of objections – mostly on environmental issues. Of all those that made submissions to the planning application, there were 457 objections and 118 supporters.

Despite those numbers, the local government gave the plans for construction the go-ahead back in June and they passed the button to the national government, which announced that all the permission they needed was from the Highland Council.

The Sutherland Spaceport’s decision to go ahead with the construction was valid until the couple aired their grievances.

Why they Believe the Proposed Space Launch Site was Flawed 

Wildland Ltd thinks that a project of that magnitude deserved more scrutiny, so they want a review done on the plans. 

They have taken a look at the Highland’s Council’s resolution to offer the green light for the proposed space launch site construction, but they insist that certain things weren’t correctly measured.

They also stated that the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has no admittance to a detailed report on the impact the scheme would have on both the environment and humans living around the site. For those reasons, they believe that they had no right to approve it and they seek a review to be done promptly on the plans for the Sutherland Spaceport.