Court of Session condemns Ministers in planning row

The Court of Session has condemned Scottish Ministers for failing to give "proper, adequate and intelligible reasons" for granting planning permission to a controversial railfreight super-hub on greenbelt land in Lanarkshire.

The court said Ministers' had "largely ignored" a number of serious concerns raised by their own independent reporter in relation to the proposed Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP) in Bellshill.

In a written judgement, Lord Drummond Young, Lady Smith and Lady Paton said the Ministers' decision letter overturning the reporter's recommendations and giving the scheme the go-ahead in August 2015 "does not meet the standard of intelligibility required".

The judges said that "the rather cursory statement that loss of green belt would be offset to some extent by the proposed community green network and woodland...[was nowhere] near an adequate response".

Ministers also failed to address the "real prospect of closure of the Freightliner terminal and potentially a risk to other facilities in central Scotland" as a consequence of competition from MIRP.

The ruling follows an appeal by North Lanarkshire Council, which had rejected the plans before being overruled by Ministers.

To read the Court of Session judgment, click here