Local community groups and national wildlife organisations have once again called on Scottish Government agency NatureScot to urgently act to protect one of Ayrshire’s most important wildlife sites. Three years ago, the groups asked for the Garnock Estuary to be urgently designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – but despite the ongoing efforts of NatureScot to gather evidence necessary to assess the site’s value, the threat of development continues to hang over it. A letter sent to the Chief Executive of NatureScot today highlights the urgent need to act to preserve the Garnock Estuary.

The Garnock Estuary, comprising the Ardeer Peninsula in Stevenston and Garnock East in Irvine, is a unique mosaic of dunes, grassland, woodlands, scrub and wetlands. Although it has been modified by the site’s complex industrial past, it remains an incomparable haven for wildlife, including species that have been lost across much of the landscape. It is home to over 1,000 invertebrate species, including at least 99 of conservation concern and some found nowhere else in Scotland. The estuary is one of the most important breeding bird populations on the Lower Clyde coast and supports at least 46 rare plants, including endemic sub-species and those for which Scotland has an international responsibility.

However, its rich diversity of life is under threat from a Special Development Order dating back to 1953. This means that planning permission is not required for development and activities which would require consent almost anywhere else in Scotland. The site is already suffering from ongoing sand extraction which is damaging its unique dune habitats. With a number of large and potentially damaging developments proposed in recent years, time is running out to save one of Scotland’s most fascinating wildlife sites