Councillors in the Western Isles unanimously granted planning permission for the proposed facility at Scolpaig in North Uist last month.

The local authority received 244 individual public responses opposing the plan, including a petition with almost 1,000 signatures.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) application is for the construction of a sub-orbital vertical launch spaceport, designed to provide generic infrastructure to meet the requirements of different operators of sub-orbital launch vehicles.

The application site forms a part of Scolpaig Farm, located on the northwest coast of the Isle of North Uist, and is comprised of 1.82 hectares of mainly agricultural grassland. The site includes the former farm steading buildings (except for the farmhouse). The proposed sub-orbital vertical launch spaceport facility would occupy a relatively small site, but on account of the nature of the proposed use, the impacts and effects would extend beyond the boundary of the application site.

The Comhairle said an EIA Report, subsequently supplemented by a Supplementary Environmental Information (SEI) Report, was submitted to assess the likely significance of the effect of the proposed development on the wider environment and has informed the planning assessment.

The proposal went before the Scottish Government but Scottish Ministers decided against calling in the application for further scrutiny.

Welcoming the decision, a Comhairle spokesperson said: “This is another important step forward in the plan to establish Spaceport 1 - a suborbital, vertical launch facility at Scolpaig, North Uist. Following receipt of the formal decision notice, our focus will turn to discharging the planning conditions and delivering on the mitigations laid out in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

“Spaceport 1 will provide an opportunity for the economy of the Outer Hebrides to grow and diversify and will provide much needed local, professional jobs and training opportunities. Prospective launch companies are already looking at working with local businesses and establishing an on-island presence to support launches in future years. Even at this early stage, it is acknowledged by the launch industry that Spaceport 1 – and the Outer Hebrides – has a critical role to play in the expansion of the Scottish and UK space sectors.”

Following detailed consideration of the conditions attached to the planning decision, the project board will develop the timeline for construction. At this stage, it is anticipated that the first launch from Spaceport 1 could be in late 2024 / early 2025.