Friends of the Ochils has confirmed to Scottish Forestry that it has no further issues to raise regarding the Ardargie Woodland Creation proposal, following the satisfactory resolution of access concerns raised during the consultation period.
FotO and the Perth and Kinross Council Local Access Forum (PKC LAF) had both expressed concerns about access provision under the scheme. Following engagement with Scottish Forestry and the agent, Scottish Woodlands, an updated Issues Log confirmed that the access issues had been addressed — including the addition of an extra gate to the design.
With the final approval process for the case expected to begin by the end of May 2025, the committee informed Scottish Forestry that it was satisfied with the scheme and its access provision.
FotO also intends to raise two broader concerns arising from the consultation process: the unsatisfactory way in which consultation was carried out — with FotO being repeatedly contacted via Scottish Forestry rather than directly by the agent — and how best to coordinate future collaboration with the PKC LAF on access matters while retaining the ability to comment independently on other aspects of forestry development.