A Perthshire trout and salmon fishery has been told to cease trading with almost immediate effect in a move that has stunned its owners.
Perth and Kinross Council has taken tough enforcement action against the Tay Salmon Fishing Company Ltd, operators of the Willowgate Fishery at Kinfauns, which had been set to be nominated for a major national conservation award.
The business, which opened in October 2009, has even been working with the council on projects, but has now been found to have breached planning controls in that it did not have permission to change the original use of the land.
The unauthorised alterations appear to include the flooding of what was formerly agricultural grazing land to create the large body of water used for fisheries.
According to the council, the operators have been given numerous warnings about the breach and have previously been given the chance to correct matters by submitting a retrospective full planning application.
Those have apparently gone unheeded and the Tay Salmon Fishing Company has now been given 30 days to cease operating, with a deadline set for February 4.
A linked, but separate enforcement order relates to a former fishing lodge on the site which has over time been converted into a public cafe.
The council had received complaints about the site and has now taken action to shut it down, with the enforcement order stating, “In view of the lack of proper assessment and the existing access considerations and road safety concerns, the planning authority considers that a planning application for the shop and cafe would not be granted planning permission in its present form.”FrustratedHowever, chairman of Tay Salmon Fisheries Company David Clarke said he had been left “hurt and frustrated” by the decision.
“I have tried to negotiate with the planners unsuccessfully over the last two or three years,” he said.
“It beggars belief that they have done this to us.
“The planning process has been anything but straightforward and it’s felt like the goalposts have continually shifted.”
Mr Clarke said he had complied with the enforcement notice, but had instructed lawyers to look at matters while he continues to negotiate with the council.
He added, “I have to apologise to all the people who have enjoyed the facility we have built here at Willowgate.
“This will be a loss to the local economy because people came from all over the UK to fish here, not to mention visitors from around the world, including America and Scandinavia.
“We also created several jobs and these will likely be lost.”
It is an unusual turn of events given the close working relationship the fisheries has had with groups, including the local authority, on a number of innovative projects, including a river taxi between Elcho Castle and Willowgate, which received Rural LEADER funding.
They have also been playing a role in the Tay Regeneration Project, a partnership between Fife and Perth and Kinross councils and the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company that aimed to rekindle interest in the Tay.
Should further talks with the council fail, Mr Clarke has the right of appeal to the Scottish ministers, though he said last night that such an action was unlikely.
“I’ve tried to do the right thing but either I’ve got it wrong or they’ve got it wrong and I have to make a decision to progress or pack my bags,” he said.