Planning News

Many of Shetland’s islands and places, some of which are identified in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB’s) ‘Biosecurity For Life’ website, are amongst those that are internationally important breeding sites for seabirds. One of the biggest threats these seabirds face is from invasive non-native mammalian predators (rats, mice, mink, stoats, polecats, hedgehogs, cats) who predate on adult birds, chicks, and eggs. They can have devastating effects and even completely wipe out birds on some islands.

The most common way for most of these species to reach seabird islands is due to human activities, with those surrounding construction posing a high risk. When doing planning and building work on seabird islands it is important to take steps to minimise the biosecurity risk work will have. Bringing building materials, staff, food, and waste to an island are all big biosecurity risks, be it by car, boat, or air.

This RSPB produced guidance gives details of each pathway and the measures that can be put in place to mitigate them. Biosecurity should really be considered for any construction work on any of our outer islands. It is advisable to write your own biosecurity plan for what specific risks your proposed work poses and how you plan to address these when carrying out development, including when submitting a planning application.