We are in the midst of a climate and environmental emergency. In 2023, the Scottish Government National Planning Framework (NPF4) was adopted, setting out policies for the development and use of land, with the protection of the environment and climate at its core.

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As well as compliance with policy, we have legal processes that authorities must follow when assessing any planning application. Yet, time and time again, for those unaware of what these policies and processes are, developments are approved without question and planning decisions are made that should not have been.

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​Save Our Green Space (SOGS) is a community group formed in response to one such decision regarding a housing development that threatens our town’s last remaining wild, traffic-free greenspace; our mission is to safeguard this historical and biodiverse area – central to our community's heritage and wellbeing – and hold decision-makers to account.

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We have spent hundreds of hours between us learning about planning policies and the law, speaking to experts and consulting with legal professionals. ​We know we have a strong legal case, rooted in dismissal of policy, flawed ecological surveys and misleading information regarding the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and housing. Our solicitor has submitted letters on our behalf to inform the Council of their obligations to adhere to policy, but astonishingly they have approved the development. We now have no choice but to bring a Judicial Review against the Highland Council Planning Authority.

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This issue is endemic across Scotland. Our fight is not simply a case of our town being deprived of some open space. Its greater significance is in the environmental damage which will follow from continuing to ignore policy and legal process leading to the development of greenfield sites that should not be touched. Our case serves as a critical opportunity to help set the precedent Scotland-wide, that bypassing planning process and ignoring both local and national policy in the face of big development will not go unchecked.

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We have a strong case, but we need help with funds. Judicial Review come with a high price tag. However, with the support of our community and allies, we can protect the integrity of our environment, uphold our heritage, and advocate for sustainable development that respects both people and nature. This is not just for Invergordon. This is for the hundreds of other communities fighting to save their greenspaces from development – and for those who have already lost theirs.