An Argyll and Bute council decision to grant planning permission for a fish farm site has been upheld by the Court of Session.

Councillors had given approval to Dawnfresh for the development of a fish-farm site on Loch Etive, to be known as Etive 6.

A petition against the proposal had been submitted by the Friends of Loch Etive (FoLE) community charity.

However the decision to grant approval has been justified.

Councillor David Kinniburgh, Chair of the PPSL Committee, said: "We are delighted at this news; in dismissing the Friends of Loch Etive’s petition Lord Burns shows quite clearly that the planning permission granted to Dawnfresh was entirely right and proper.

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"In granting permission for a development at the Etive 6 site we stipulated, through a section 75 agreement, that this could only happen with the removal of the applicant’s existing fish farm equipment at the Etive 1 and Etive 5 sites, thus consolidating the amount of farming activity on the loch.

"It was argued that this would not be achieved, however, Lord Burns has ruled that, once Dawnfresh complied with the section 75 agreement, no fish farm equipment will exist at the two sites, meaning the farming activity is rationalised."

In a written opinion, Lord Burns rejected the FoLE's arguments.

He said: "I am unable to conclude that those decisions are illegal, ultra vires or in any way unreasonable.

"It is not for this court to interfere in the exercise of the planning authority’s discretion in this regard."

(LM)