Backlash over Altnabreac wind farm plan and speaking up for local libraries
YOUR VIEWS: Readers of the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier have their say on the topics of the week
Wind farm on edge of Flow Country is ‘wrong on every level’
Having received the information card in the post and fully investigated the proposed Altnabreac Wind Farm, I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms about this utterly appalling development.
It is bad enough that Caithness has year on year become the backwater go-to destination for the Scottish Government to carpet with these monstrosities, up to and including turning the A9 north of Spittal into some dystopian Blade Runner hellscape.
That’s not something local residents ever wanted, and certainly not something that tourists heading north want to see either in an area that is heavily dependent on the tourism industry.
Talking of the tourist pound, funnily enough I have yet to see any wind turbines on Calton Hill or the Salisbury Crags. Why not, if it is deemed so acceptable for Caithness and indeed the wider Highlands? A rhetorical question, of course, as we all know why this region always gets the thin end of any wedge.
Which brings me nicely to Altnabreac and the proverbial “final straw”. I mean, seriously? Are you totally out of your minds? The ink is hardly dry on the supposedly ultra-prestigious and protective Unesco World Heritage Site award and grubby speculators can’t wait to hoist 17 200m-high turbines and all the infrastructure involved cheek by jowl with it.
It is just wrong on every level. You know and I know these structures are not self-maintaining and that there will inevitably be some degree of run-off from the chemicals and fuel used to stipend their “green” credentials. All that before the absolute visual blight on this supposedly precious landscape and the well-documented threat to bird life, and all conceived with the deep cynicism of edging the entire eyesore as close as possible to a line on a map that designates where the Flow Country begins and ends. It remains nothing more than a pithy excuse to do the wrong thing.
Not to mention the fact that we as a country would rightly become a worldwide laughing stock. The eye-rolling memes titled “Only in Scotland...” would soon roll in.
But it really isn’t a laughing matter and, frankly, enough is enough. I and many more like me will continue to campaign against this idiocy, regardless of the inevitable whitewashing that will occur in clearing it for construction.
Shame on you all for even proposing it.
Peter Campbell
Halkirk
Libraries provide substantial benefits
Did you know that over the past decade, 53 public libraries across Scotland have closed their doors for good – without replacement?
The same public libraries which provide essential access to trusted information and education for all, which ignite a lifelong love of reading from early years, and which serve as warm, welcoming spaces where everyone is welcome without any expectation to spend.
The same public libraries which, time and again, deliver enormous value to communities across the country, only to find themselves at risk when budgets are debated.
I’ve written to councillors across the Highlands, before crucial budget decisions are made for the next financial year, to remind them what investment in public libraries truly means.
At the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), the advocacy body for Scotland’s network of over 500 public and mobile libraries, we understand the delicate financial situation that councils must navigate but we would urge those considering cuts to their library services to think again.
It’s no secret that the cultural sector is under unprecedented pressure but the narrative that austerity measures justify these cuts is shortsighted. This isn’t just a story of diminishing buildings and bookshelves; it’s a story of lives disrupted.
These closures are deeply felt because libraries represent so much more than the sum of their parts. Public libraries remain the most popular service local government delivers. Closing these doors means cutting off opportunities – a cost far greater than any savings achieved.
Libraries are proven to deliver significant economic and social returns, with research from Suffolk Libraries revealing a £6.95 return of economic benefit for every £1 invested through improved literacy, better mental health and stronger communities. And of course, when this investment figure is flipped, we see that the closure of public libraries will result in the community losing out on £6.95 of economic and social benefit for every £1 that is invested elsewhere.
The troubling trend of closures and cuts to library services across the country all too often disproportionately affects rural communities, exacerbating existing inequalities by stripping away vital access to education, digital resources and safe spaces for social interaction.
For these communities, libraries are not a luxury but a necessity. They provide essential services to support job applications, digital literacy training and social connection. To lose them is to deepen the isolation already felt by many.
Ask yourself: where else can citizens turn for support with their health, finances and employment? Libraries do it all under a single roof. They make real change to people in communities right across the Highlands and play a central part in how the council brings about change.
Libraries drive forward crucial national agendas including preventative health – with the Health on the Shelf research report showing they save NHS Scotland £3.2m every year, bridging the digital divide by offering free access to PCs, wi-fi and digital support for a range of essential services, and fostering social cohesion by hosting a diverse range of community events. And this is all in addition to their core function: to encourage reading and provide a range of trusted reference materials.
As cuts and closures loom across the country, we’re urging local decision-makers to prioritise sustainable investment in libraries. Cutting library budgets is a false economy. The cost of losing libraries extends far beyond financial savings, impacting education, mental health and community cohesion. But it’s not just closures that we’re concerned about.
The slow, salami-slicing effect that has been seen over recent years, with opening hours cut – decreasing by 13 per cent, on average – budgets slashed and staffing numbers reduced is felt across communities, with one in three voicing fears that their whole service is at risk.
Where councils have embraced the importance of libraries, the benefits are clear – 22 out of the 32 local authorities have not made any cuts to their library services in the last decade; instead, they are choosing to invest in their future, from creating learning hubs which have seen unprecedented loan figures, to developing dedicated ‘Maker Spaces’, reinforcing the role that libraries play as the originators of the sharing economy by offering access to emerging technology, such as 3D printers and laser cutters, as well as sewing and embroidery equipment.
In a recent survey from the Association of Public Libraries in Scotland, over 93 per cent agreed that using the public library improves their quality of life, reminding us of the immense value that a public library holds, evolving to meet the needs of modern Scotland with the emergence of whole-community assets that can be used by educators, small businesses, community groups, and individuals to help people right across the Highlands achieve their potential, while retaining their fundamental purpose: to connect, inspire and empower.
These services are a source of inspiration, but they remain the exception rather than the rule. To fulfil this potential, they need more than goodwill – they need sustainable funding.
No other community asset can deliver the vast economic and social benefits that a thriving public library service can, and so we would urge decision-makers to prioritise investment in their communities. Anything less would be a failure we cannot afford.
Alison Nolan
Chief executive officer
Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)
Boys’ Brigade support
On behalf of the 1st Thurso Boys’ Brigade, we would like to thank everyone for the tremendous support we received during the last year.
Thank you to all who helped at our fundraising events, those who baked, gave prizes and donations, also those who raised money on our behalf.
A special thank you to the boys for coming along weekly and to their parents for all their support and encouragement to the officers and boys.
We are recruiting so any boy aged five and over is welcome to come along on a Thursday night between 6.30pm and 7.30pm and join in the activities.
Finally we would like to thank Caithness FM, Thurso Community Noticeboard, What’s on and the staff of the North of Scotland Newspapers for all your help and support throughout the year.
The Officers
1st Thurso Boys’ Brigade
Couper Street
Thurso
Fate of Saville’s former house
When the Psalmist wrote “I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: from whence shall my help come? My help cometh from Jehovah”, they were not denying the existence of other deities.
Atop those hills were shrines to other deities. Yet there was only one who made heaven and earth.
Most of these smaller gods simply tweeted like birds. The Ancients, though, also had a worldview where some places could be tainted by a badness: locus terribilis.
Scroll forward two-and-a-half millennia, we may say this is beyond our comprehension. We still, though, are superstitious and believe in magic. At the milder end, it is regular newspaper columns’ horoscopes and lucky Lotto numbers, or chalking the door at Epiphany.
At the other, the bone-deep horror and sense of a malign presence at Jimmy Savile’s former house in Glencoe which, after years of graffiti and the like, has been badly damaged by fire.
The previous owner, Hamish Macinnes, rightly is remembered for his promotion of mountain rescue.
His good deeds will live on. Zikhrono livrakha.
I know it’s just brick and mortar. It may, though, have become tainted by that devil’s presence.
Demolish and replace.
Alexander Glasgow
Tower Hill Road
Thurso
ONLINE VIEWS
Plan for 17-turbine wind farm close to Flow Country World Heritage Site
Having recently experienced industrial wind turbine projects applying for planning permission around our home here in rural Australia, we have learned that these global corporations (this one is Spanish) use the same words, the same ploys and processes worldwide.
We have found one of the few ways residents can have their thoughts acknowledged is by attending the “information sessions.” The proponent hopes that next to no one will attend. They can then say they have “consulted” with the community and there are next to no concerns raised.
However, the people that attend these will have their thoughts recorded by the staff and this will form a large part of the Social Impact Assessment (or equivalent). One of the things that the developers NEED to get their projects through is social licence.
Show them they DON’T have it. Take a list of what you don’t want to see happen and make sure you tell the staff – tell them to write them them down. If the project goes on exhibition for public comment, please take the time to write a submission/objection.
If you want to protect your World Heritage Site, please stand up and tell them.
Annette Piper
Coolah
NSW, Australia