We have started this petition for all those concerned about unbridled development at Luskentyre, on the Isle of Harris - an acknowledged location of natural beauty that is now under real threat. We have an immediate focus on declared plans to install 8 glamping pods on a site of pristine machair grassland, which will cause irreparable ecological damage and bring little benefit to the local community. We are approaching this as concerned stewards of a fragile ecology, and require that our voices are heard before short-sighted steps are taken that will forever change Luskentyre for both residents and visitors for years to come.

Residents said the plan, involving a total of 8 pods sleeping four people, to be located on a pristine machair shoreline, will also put further pressure on already strained services in the local community, which has been flooded with visitors since Covid restrictions have eased. Increased outflows of sewage due to high visitor numbers have already affected the grading classification of local shellfish. Many in the community say the indifference of official bodies towards the community’s concerns is risking the sustainability of Luskentyre’s wild sweeps of pristine sand, looming dunes, before the sparkling waters of the Sound of Taransay. With the crucial planning decision set for Sept 28th by the local council, residents are worried that local authorities will rubber stamp the plan in the name of development, with no thought for the wider consequences.

We call on the Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar and the Government bodies NatureScot and SEPA to rightfully fully protect this rare and fragile environment and reject this planning application.