A pressure group which fought plans for a fish farm on a Highland loch now faces a bill for thousands of pounds after losing its legal challenge.
Friends of Loch Etive (FoLE) went to the Court of Sessions to try to overturn Argyll and Bute Council’s approval for Dawnfresh’s new trout farm on Loch Etive, known as Saileen Ruadh or Etive 6.
But the local authority’s decision was upheld by the court and now a decree has been obtained awarding it expenses.
Yesterday, the council was unable to give a total sum for expenses owed by the group.
However, FoLE has already set aside £58,000 to meet its costs.
In a report prepared for the council’s planning committee meeting on Wednesday, the local authority’s head of governance and law Charles Reppke says: “A decree has now been obtained awarding expenses to the council on a party to party basis.
“A proportion of the council’s legal costs incurred in defending the petition for judicial review will accordingly be recovered by the council from FoLE.
“An account of the council’s expenses is currently being prepared for submission to the Law Accountant.”
FoLE had made an application to the court for a Protected Expenses Order, limiting its costs to the council in the event that the petition for a judicial review was unsuccessful to £5,000.
This was rejected by judge Lord Malcolm and it was agreed that FoLE would place £58,000 in an account which could be accessed by the council in the event it was required to meet the local authority’s expenses.
Keith MacMillan, trustee of FoLE, said: “There is some money set aside. That is not guaranteed for Argyll and Bute. It is just an arbitrary figure. We have not agreed the expenses yet. It is down to both our solicitors agreeing reasonable expenses for Argyll and Bute.
“It is part and parcel with a judicial review, you have to go in to these things with your eyes wide open.”
He said that FoLE had more than 300 members and was funded by charitable donations.
Dawnfresh said the first fish from Etive 6 were harvested this summer and that £5million had been invested in the project, which has created 68 jobs.
Gideon Pringle, farming director, said: “We are pleased that the council will be reimbursed for the considerable sum of public money that this has cost them.
“The fact that they will be reimbursed is very good because it is public money that will no longer be wasted as a result.”