Scotland Land Court’s go-ahead for Space Port
September 15, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Following on from the decision by billionaire Anders Povlsen that he would not further contest the construction of a proposed Space Port on the A’Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland, the Scottish Land Court has now given formal approval to the scheme.
The court ruled that it was in the public interest for the development to go ahead, citing its ability to create “meaningful and desirable employment opportunities” in the local area, and was satisfied that any local residents affected would be fairly recompensed.
The Spaceport has received the enthusiastic backing of the Melness Crofters Estate, the committee of local crofters that own land in the area. This latest decision follows unsuccessful legal action by Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen to stop the Spaceport. In a Judicial Review ruling last month, the Judge ruled against Povlsen on every count.
Commenting on the Land Court decision, Chris Larmour, CEO of Orbex, said: “This is another landmark legal decision in favour of the Spaceport project. We were always hopeful that this would be the decision, bearing in mind the enthusiastic support from the majority of the crofters. Space Hub Sutherland is still the only UK Spaceport with planning permission, and with the recent Judicial Review ruling and now this positive Land Court decision, it’s all systems go and we can look ahead to the first UK Pathfinder launch from Space Hub Sutherland.”
Orbex is a UK-based private, low-cost orbital launch services company, serving the needs of the small satellite industry. Orbex has developed one of the most advanced, low carbon, high performance micro-launch vehicles in the world. Since 2015, Orbex have raised over £38 million in public and private funding and work with the support of several EU governments and key partners to ensure the best launch vehicle and launch site options.