The Slug of Auchrannie is a beautiful waterfall in the Den of Airlie located 2km downstream of Reekie Linn. The den is a National Nature Reserve and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is of international importance for the protection of rare plants such as river lichen jelly, some mosses and liverworts. That is unfortunately about to change forever. There has been a planning application submitted to create a hydro-scheme by excavating a 4 metre diameter tunnel for a pipe several hundred metres long which will divert water from the waterfall to a turbine to create electricity. A concrete weir will be built across the top of this magnificent waterfall lessening its flow to a trickle. The construction will take at least a year, destroy its’ scenic beauty and kill many rare plants and native trees. The electricity created will contribute to the Government’s green agenda. However, for all the blight and destruction caused in this nature reserve, only 2MW of power will be produced – the equivalent of a single large wind turbine. Many walkers come here and we believe it’s just too great a cost for the very small amount of green energy produced by this hydro-scheme. To view application on-line visit www.angus.gov.uk (The Planning Application number is 12/00874/EIAL). If you feel The Slug is worth saving and object to this application, please sign the petition.

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