Hated

AN ECOLOGIST has insisted otters must be given a 650ft protection zone if work on Stella McCartney’s £5m Highland mansion is given the green light.

McCartney, 54, and her husband, Alasdhair Willis, hope to build a secluded mansion at Commando Rock in Glenuig on the Moidart peninsula.

Dozens of objections have been lodged with Highland Council over the application in her husband’s name.

An otter survey requested by the couple has been submitted to officials and it confirms the presence of holts near the site.

Dr Leon Durbin, an otter expert, has said an exclusion zone must be enforced to prevent harm being done to animals.

An objection letter to Highland Council said: “As an experienced otter ecologist I am going to argue that the nature of the works here requires a 200m exclusion.

“The reason that a 200m exclusion zone around natal holts is usually recommended by NatureScot is that these natal resting sites tend to be well away from human activity, especially noisy, vibrational activity.

“In my opinion, noise and vibration from ground works, site traffic, voices etc at 100m would likely cause disturbance to breeding otters, even with the proviso of vegetative cover and sloping topography.”

He added: “As an ecologist who has chalked up many hundreds of hours of radio-tracking and direct observations of otters in freshwater
and marine environments, including radio-tracking a female before and after breeding, I would urgently recommend a 200m exclusion zone in this case.

“If there is any doubt, the legislation compels us to add a good margin as a precautionary principle.”

Otters are a protected species and it is an offence to damage a holt.

A licence will be needed from official body NatureScot before any work commences.

Mr Willis had earlier confirmed the otter report had been completed.

He added: “The ecologist went through all the appropriate measures, setting up cameras and monitoring activity.

“We’re not denying there is wildlife activity.

“But we’ve come back with a clear mitigation plan to minimise any environmental impact, not just for otters but all wildlife.”

Ms McCartney has strong connections to Scotland after spending childhood holidays at High Park Farm on Mull of Kintyre, a hideaway that became the inspiration for the 1977 hit that her father wrote with Denny Laine for Wings.

She married at Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute in 2003.

Highland Council said their planning committee hope to consider the project in the near future.