St. Fittick's Park lose legal challenge to halt development over Torry green space
Scotland's highest court has ruled Aberdeen City Council did not act unlawfully in its proposals to turn a park into an Energy Transition Zone.
Campaigners fighting to save Torry's St. Fittick's park from development have lost a legal challenge against Aberdeen City Council.
The group took the local authority to the court of session last week, claiming it did not discharge its responsibilities as a "listed authority" under the Equalities Act.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the campaigners stated a full council meeting on September 11 2023, where the proposals were discussed, triggered this clause.
In response, the council said it did "no more than give express authority" for officers to investigate what developments of St Fittick's Park may involve.
The Torry park is the site of a proposed Energy Transition Zone, an industrial hub tailored to support the transition to green energy.
Publishing his ruling from the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Lord Douglas Fairley refused the petition from Friends of St Fittick's Park which argued the local authority failed its legal duty to perform equality impact assessments.
In his ruling, Lord Fairley accepted the response from lawyers acting on behalf of Aberdeen City Council, who argued the petitioner's remarks were "premature" as the steps taken by officials did not yet necessitate an equality impact assessment.
He said: "If the petitioner's argument about that issue was correct (whether they had a duty to carry out equality impact assessment) it would necessarily imply that the respondent was under a duty to carry out an assessment of impact without knowing what proposals it was assessing.
"The clear purpose of the resolution of September 11 2023 was to facilitate the collection of relevant information about what development of the park by ETZ ... might entail.
"Logically, the ingathering of such information needed to take place before any impact assessment could be carried out.
"I therefore agree with the respondent's submission that in passing resolution 9.6 of 11 September 2023, it did not breach any of the duties incumbent upon it under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 or regulation 5 of the 2012 regulations."
Lord Fairley therefore refused the petition.
A spokesperson for ETZ Ltd, the private sector-led and not-for-profit company spearheading the transition, said: "We welcome today's Court of Session judgment.
"Through our Community & Coast programme, ETZ Ltd are firmly committed to enhancing wider greenspaces in proximity of the Energy Transition Zone in co-design and collaboration with the local community.
"This will include significant improvements to St Fittick's Park, Tullos woods and the coastal path corridor as part of the project's wider regeneration ambitions.
"It is important to highlight that we have proposed utilising, subject to planning, a significantly reduced area of development to St Fittick's Park with just over half of the Aberdeen City Council proposed sites being developed equating to less than a third of the park overall. "
Aberdeen City Council and Friends of St Fittick's Park have been asked for comment.
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