Energy proposals are ‘destroying fabric of rural life’
YOUR VIEWS: Readers of the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier have their say on the latest issues affecting the far north
Energy proposals are ‘destroying fabric of rural life’
The recent convention in Beauly was a powerful moment. It laid bare the growing anger across the Highlands about the way energy infrastructure is being forced upon our communities – without real consultation, without strategic oversight, and with little or no local benefit.
Here in Caithness, we’re facing a tidal wave of industrial-scale proposals: the Mey BESS battery site beside the Castle of Mey, wind farms like Slickly, the return of towering pylons between Weydale and Reaster, and major grid expansions like the Gills Bay switching station.
Each one is being treated in isolation, when the cumulative effect is what’s really destroying the fabric of our landscape and rural life.
Jamie Stone MP was right to describe a “deep disconnect” between elected community councils and centralised government decision-making. Fergus Ewing MSP is also right: people are losing faith, and unless the Scottish Government listens now, opposition will only grow.
We’re not anti-renewables. We’re pro-democracy, pro-rural Scotland, and pro-common sense. If “net zero” means flattening the Highlands for distant benefit, that is neither just nor sustainable.
It’s time for a moratorium on new approvals, a full public inquiry into the planning process, and proper enforcement of national policies that claim to value people, nature and place.
The Highlands are not a dumping ground.
Andy Hayton
Mey
Journey to ever-more energy must stop
On Saturday, Councillor Helen Crawford hosted a meeting at the Phipps Hall in Beauly, attended by over 300 people, and where over 50 community councils from across the Highlands, representing around 72,000 people, stood together to show the Scottish Government and BIG energy that we have had enough of the proliferation of wind farms, BESS, substations, pump storage, and infrastructure proposals in and around our communities.
Unfortunately, the responses from our elected representatives, such as Jamie Stone, Angus Macdonald, and Fergus Ewing only added insult to the injury that thousands in rural Scotland are suffering.
The narrative that slides so easily off their tongues, in an effort to seem to be showing empathy and understanding is, “We need to take communities with us”. But where? Where do they want to take us? Where is this journey they want us to go on?
That journey is about community benefit. We don’t want money to compensate for our ruined landscape, industrialised natural environment, devastated villages, ransacked culture and heritage, devalued homes and businesses. We don’t want the BIG energy bribes. And the sooner the politicians understand that the better.
We have zero desire to continue on any journey with them or their buddies in BIG energy, driving towards an inevitable car crash, or worse, over a cliff edge, for that is where they are taking us.
Denise Davis
Communities B4 Power Companies
Taigh Dubh
We don’t want their money!
What an amazing and inspiring turnout in Beauly on Saturday with over 50 Highland community councils, representing over 72,500 rural folk, supporting an event chaired by communities champion, Highland councillor Helen Crawford, and calling for the Scottish Government to press pause on the tsunami of energy applications hitting our struggling local authorities and drowning rural residents.
The statement also demanded a planning inquiry commission, a clear national energy policy and an economic impact assessment “given that tourism is currently the backbone of the Highland economy”.
There were passion and tears from those who spoke of their despair and grief at what seemed like an unstoppable steamroller crushing their voices, opposition and local democracy. There was a genuine feeling of hope and camaraderie from the attending crowd.
The reckless over-deployment of industrial scale renewables and the devastating infrastructure to encourage even more is leaving an environment torn up, habitats destroyed, communities reeling and widespread mental anguish.
Jamie Stone MP was in attendance and I sincerely hope he took away with him that the communities relentlessly targeted by Big Energy won’t roll over for a pittance of community benefit. In fact the message was: We don’t want any money, we want to be left in peace after over a decade of abuse by the multinationals encouraged by the Scottish Government.
Kate Forbes MSP was conspicuous by her absence as were senior Highland Council officials. The time for sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring the fury rumbling through our glens and communities has passed and they need to act for the people who pay their wages, or lose their well-paid comfy seats.
Energy minister Gillian Martin also needs to take note and her “better consultation by developers” will NOT stop communities objecting to Big Energy’s profit-driven destructive proposals. Instead of refusing to meet campaigners, but having multiple meetings with the very developers wreaking havoc across rural Scotland, she should make an effort to understand the distress her policies are causing.
Slashing response times to thousands of pages of planning applications by half for already overwhelmed lay people is thoughtless and cruel.
In addition, the meeting heard how our health is being scoped out of planning applications with the agreement of Highland Council and the Scottish Government. It is totally unacceptable and morally reprehensible that developers are allowed to not address human health in their environmental impact assessments for any energy proposals.
Rural Scotland, not just in the Highlands and Islands, and its people need protecting from the ruthless and profit-driven global investment colonisers who see them and where they live as collateral damage. I hope more will be inspired by what happened in Beauly on Saturday and join the growing swell of true environmentalists who have had enough of the damage caused by Big Energy and their enablers in the Scottish Government.
Lyndsey Ward
Communities B4 power Companies
Beauly
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