Fairlie Coastal Trust
Cover image © Fairlie Coastal Trust
The town of Fairlie, on the North Ayrshire coast, sits on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde and looks across to the Isle of Arran and the Cumbraes. To the south lies the Portencross coast SSSi and the Hunterston SSSi sites – valuable feeding grounds for seabirds and waders.
The Fairlie Coastal Trust was established in 2017 to help protect and promote the beautiful coastline and bay. The group have four key themes which they aim to focus on developing over time. These are environment, community, activity and heritage.
After a long process, the Fairlie community, alongside supporters, were successful in ensuring that Peel Ports’ plans for massive dredging and construction works at Hunterston to bring oil-rigs for decommissioning will require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This change in opinion from Marine Scotland, in March 2020, followed a concerted #SaveSouthannanSands “SAY NO WAY WITHOUT AN EIA” campaign.
Fairlie Coastal Trust and supporters continue to hold the planning and regulatory authorities to account to protect the marine environment and the communities that surround Hunterston.