Western Isles fishermen win battle against planned Bakkafrost farm.
Western Isles councillors have refused planning permission for Bakkafrost Scotland’s proposed North Gravir fish farm off the east coast of Lewis, ruling that the company had not demonstrated the development would avoid unacceptable disruption to commercial fishing activity.
The decision overturns a recommendation for conditional approval from planning officers at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
The Western Isles Fishermen’s Association (WIFA) opposed the plan, arguing the site is one of the region’s most productive grounds for prawns, scallops and brown crab, supporting long-term jobs at sea and at the Macduff Shellfish factory in Stornoway. WIFA said up to 20 trawlers operate in the area and estimated annual earnings of £50,000 per vessel within the proposed boundary.
Bakkafrost Scotland’s environmental impact assessment acknowledged mobile gear vessels would likely be excluded from the full 1.02 km² site but said the economic displacement would be negligible. The company estimated the farm would create five permanent jobs and generate direct annual economic benefits of £606,000.
Councillors questioned the balance of economic evidence, with planning officers noting the difficulty of reconciling competing data sources. The application was deemed non-compliant with local development plan policy and National Planning Framework 4, which requires aquaculture development to be balanced against community, business and environmental considerations.
The planning applications board voted unanimously to refuse consent.
