Tree felling in the Den of Kildrummy: EIR release

Information requested

If Kildrummy estate has a felling license to cut trees in the Den of Kildrummy due to the recent storm.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Discussion have been had with Scottish Forestry, Aberdeenshire Council and Kildrummy Estate to ensure this work is properly mandated and completed in the interests of public safety.

Felling work at Kildrummy is permitted through their Long Term Forest Plan (LTFP), which granted approval for the clear felling of the two roadside compartments in the Den of Kildrummy. This approval did not include the roadside trees, however due to the storm damage sustained in this location, this approval was amended at the request of the Estate to incorporate these and to allow the felling and remedial work to proceed and re open the road.

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