NOT COUL is a group of local Dornoch and Embo residents working strongly and effectively to STOP a huge golf course development being built by American-led developers on one of Scotland's most eco diverse coastal sites at COUL LINKS.
The vital importance of wetland habitats
Coul Links is designated as a ‘Ramsar’ site – a wetland of international importance – and this will be the first time that Ramsar protection has been tested by the Scottish legal and planning system. It is also a SSSI and an SPA. Coul has therefore become a landmark case that could well influence the future law and practice of protected natural places in Scotland and beyond.
Wetlands provide all our fresh water, they protect us from floods, droughts and other disasters, provide food and livelihoods to millions of people, support rich flora and fauna biodiversity, and they store more carbon than any other ecosystem. Yet up to 87% of the global wetland resource has been lost since 1700. We lose wetlands three times faster than natural forests.
If the Coul Links development is approved, a new precedent would be set, the bar would be lowered and the floodgates could open, making our most important natural places more vulnerable to development, and ultimately to destruction. Golf and designated wetlands are not compatible in any way.
Not Coul
Fighting to prevent an environmental disaster in Scotland
A watershed test case that could affect the protection afforded to wildlife sites
Coul Links, in the far north of Scotland, is home to one of the UK’s most important sand dune systems. It is protected by three separate environmental designations because of its international importance and because it is home to rare animals and plants that are under threat.
The proposed golf course on Coul Links would destroy or damage almost twice as much protected dune habitat as the Trump golf development in Aberdeenshire, while delivering even less economic benefit.
In June this year, Highland Councillors ignored the advice of their own experts and indicated they would approve the golf course. This sparked an unprecedented public outcry. More than 90,000 of you signed a 38 Degrees petition opposing the development. Over 12,000 people wrote to the Scottish Government.
As a result, the Scottish Government has ordered that the case be taken out of the Council’s hands. The Government will now decide whether or not the development can proceed, following a detailed public inquiry that will take place in February 2019.
Stop Coul Links Golf Course
Save our WILDERNESS
Save our SSSI
Not Coul has recruited a world class team of environmental scientists to appear at the public inquiry, to demonstrate to the reporters and the Government exactly why this ruinous development must not be allowed.
And now we need you, to help fund the detailed analysis work that these experts need to complete ahead of the inquiry. Every donation counts and every penny raised will go towards strengthening our case. Together, we can match the financial muscle of the wealthy business men behind the development, with the power of the crowd.
So if you believe that our precious, protected natural places must not be for sale at any price; if you believe that the conservation and the planet matter more than golf and profit, then please help.
Thank you.