It has been called one of the last wild dune habitats in Scotland, a place of rare beauty and environmental significance, where nature has quietly thrived for centuries without concrete, commerce or compromise.
Now, the future of Coul Links hangs in the balance once more, as calls grow louder for the Scottish Government to reject the controversial plans to turn the site into yet another private golf course.
Scottish Green MSP Ariane Burgess has renewed her plea for ministers to act decisively and end what she describes as a long and damaging saga, saying it is time to draw a clear line in the sand.
“This is a really important analysis, and I hope that the SNP will listen to it and take action,” she said, referring to the latest report from NatureScot, which recommends that the proposal be rejected outright due to its potentially devastating impact on biodiversity and landscape integrity.
“It should mark the end of the saga and a rejection of this totally inappropriate and destructive development.”
The Coul Links application, first submitted years ago and later paused, has been formally ‘called in’ by the Scottish Government since February 2024, prompting a full review at ministerial level.
For many campaigners and local voices, that call-in offered hope.
Now, they say, there is clarity too.
The NatureScot report confirms what environmental advocates and residents have argued all along, that the development would damage one of the most ecologically sensitive areas in the Highlands, a landscape protected under multiple international designations.
Coul Links is more than scenery.
It is a living, breathing ecosystem.
It is home to rare plants and bird species found in few other places in the country.
It is one of the last remaining stretches of species-rich sand dune habitat in Scotland, and its value cannot be measured in profit margins or short-term visitor numbers.
Ariane Burgess, who led a 4500-strong petition calling for the government to block the plan, has consistently stood with community members, ecologists and campaigners who have raised deep concerns over the consequences of development.
“Planning permission should never have been granted in the first place,” she said.
“I have joined campaigners from across the community in objecting to it.
“Coul Links sand dunes are very rare habitats, with a variety of vegetation and species dependent on them for their survival.
“The developer’s plans fall badly short in terms of our efforts to protect our planet and improve our biodiversity.
“East Sutherland is already well served by high-quality golf courses.
“Coul Links must be protected by the Scottish Government, and marked safe from these destructive plans for yet another private golf course.”
For those who know the land and love it, the choice is stark and simple.
“This would be an act of environmental vandalism,” Ms Burgess added.
“We must not prioritise profits over public use of these beautiful spaces that are becoming few and far between.”
What is at stake now is not just a development proposal, but a principle that Scotland’s natural heritage is worth more than short-term commercial gain, and that once it is lost, we cannot build it back.
