Should the RSPB have bought Bass Rock?

The RSPB have recently announced that they have successfully purchased Bass Rock along with Craigleith Island.  Bass Rock holds the world’s largest gannet colony and has been owned by the Dalrymple family estate for the last 300 years. Whilst many applaud this I question whether this should have been done. Or perhaps, as ownership by the RSPB is not a bad thing, we should consider the mechanism that enabled this purchase?

About thirty years ago I was involved in the purchase of Washland on the Ouse Washes by a group of wildfowlers. The purchase of this small area on Washland in Cambridgeshire was at a price almost three times that of nearby agricultural land and was enabled by the funds of three wildfowling clubs plus a grant of public money. The bid for this purchase was against the RSPB that owned a neighbouring plot and was won because the wildfowlers had slightly deeper pockets. Nature benefitted from this purchase because both this field and the neighbouring field were poached, and the ticketed activity of wildfowlers enabled this to be better policed. At the same time the land was managed with a grazing regime that was funded by a Countryside Stewardship agreement. This effectively funded activity that would have happened anyway. The wildfowlers and the neighbouring RSPB warden had a good working relationship that was mutually beneficial. Some time after the purchase we were discussing management of the site with the RSPB and we both agreed that the purchase price of the site was inflated by the availability of public money to fund it. Conservation would have happened on this site that was protected in law as a SSSI, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, that can only  have any work done on it with the consent of English Nature. So, out of this transaction, in reality, nature had little or no net benefit and the main beneficiary was the person that sold the land, in that they received more money than they would have if public funds were not involved.

So, I turn to the Bass Rock. This holds the world’s largest gannet colony that has thrived under the ownership of the Dalrymple family for the last 300 years. It is both a SSSI (a Site of Special Scientific Interest) and an SPA (Special Protection Area) which means it is protected in Scotland  by the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 as administered by NatureScot, Scotland’s nature protection agency.

This purchase was funded by a £586,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. This fund is a “last resort” fund  to protect outstanding heritage ensuring cultural and historic assets are safeguarded for future generations. The National Heritage Memorial Fund is funded by a grant from the UK government, effectively public money – taxpayer funded.

The reason I query the need to purchase this site is simple:

The site has thrived under the private ownership of the Dalrymple family for 300 years.

The site enjoys legal protection by a government agency.

Effectively a site that was being well managed in private ownership has been bought with public money. Effectively Bass Rock stays the same and the Dalrymple family are better off funded by the taxpayer. The way the funds have been layered from their original source of the taxpayers pocket is a method that any money-launderer would be proud of.

Has nature received a net benefit?

Was the Bass Rock under a threat that existing protections do not cover?

I fear the answer is “No” to both.