Local Government and Communities Directorate Planning and Architecture Division T: 0131-244-0237 E:
[email protected] Email to Heads Of Planning ___ 3 March 2020 COMMERCIAL PEAT EXTRACTION SITES IN SCOTLAND You may recall that in my letter of 6 November 2019 I indicated that I would be writing to you again to seek your assistance on improving our understanding around commercial peat extraction in Scotland The Scottish Government recognises the important role peatlands play in responding to the global climate emergency and its ability to lock away carbon. This information request stems from the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government commitment to seek to phase out the use of horticultural peat, and we wish to gain an overall picture of the scale of commercial peat extraction in Scotland at this time. Specifically, we wish to understand the current volume of peat extraction and timescales around when planning permission is due to expire. I appreciate that information pertaining to planning consent for commercial peat extraction is likely to, in certain cases, date back quite some time. Nevertheless, I would be grateful for your support in completing a short survey, as far as possible, for each site within your planning authority. Based on information from BRITPITS, produced by British Geological Survey, we have identified sites across Scotland related to peat extraction along with what we understand to be the current status of those sites. (See Annex A). For those authorities with sites identified in Annex A, I would be grateful if you could complete the survey in Annex B for each relevant site.