‘Our Highland communities don’t need any more turbines’
YOUR VIEWS: Readers of the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier share their opinions on the latest issues
More turbines are only for profit
On the same day that SSEN announces big investment in the north of Scotland for its massive infrastructure we read that their parent company SSE is cutting jobs and pausing or stopping renewable energy projects due to market pressures.
Given that SSEN’s quite literal earth shattering infrastructure to connect thousands more onshore wind turbines has yet to obtain planning permission we have to wonder why our energy minister, Gillian Martin, was so quick to gush all over SSEN’s promises when they have no approval and fierce opposition in most, if not all, rural communities that the transmission giant has targeted to industrialise beyond recognition.
Why is this being welcomed by the Scottish Government when we all know that Scotland doesn’t need any more wind turbines, especially as we currently have over eight times what Ofgem says we will need as a country in peak winter 2042?
More turbines are for energy export and quite possibly beyond England given the scale of development there getting approved under Miliband. The profit is for the multinationals, not Scotland, and if there are no guaranteed customers for this over-deployed wind energy, so what? The energy companies will still trouser millions in consumer-funded constraint payments switching off their machines.
Ms Martin MSP has met with SSEN on multiple occasions and yet refuses to meet with the very people who pay her wages and are fighting to protect their homes and the natural world from the global investment company’s proposed environmental vandalism.
While it is undeniable that SSEN’s new infrastructure will create some jobs, we have yet to see how many are local, from Scotland or even the UK. Looking back at Beauly/Denny many were shipped in from overseas to construct it and now there is nothing. The dominating pylon line stands speared into iconic landscapes buzzing and hissing on its own and all the workers have gone.
Jobs like SSEN’s are temporary but the misery and mental, physical and financial stress lasts for lifetimes. The folk in rural previously peaceful communities who see their businesses and home values plummet, live in a construction traffic motorway for years and watch as the environment is torn up, habitats and wildlife lost and trees hacked down for profit, is something many will never ever get over.
If SSE is pausing or stopping development and other Big Energy follows suit then there will be no need for SSEN’s new substations and overhead lines. With some updating we have enough transmission with what we have now for our needs and more.
SSEN should follow their major shareholders because without projects to connect in to their new lines rural Scotland will be left with the biggest most expensive consumer funded white elephant and environmental carnage the country has ever seen.
Lyndsey Ward
Spokeswoman for Communities B4 Power Companies
Beauly
Support each other for Mental Health Week
We’re inviting groups and organisations across Scotland to celebrate their communities this Mental Health Awareness Week on May 12-18. During the week, we are recognising the power of community to support good mental health.
We can find community in different places and can belong to more than one. Community is an important protective factor for our mental health. It not only helps tackle social isolation, but it gives us a sense of belonging, safety, purpose and support.
During Mental Health Awareness Week, we are encouraging groups and organisations to host events and activities to showcase the great work they do; bringing people together and supporting wellbeing. Everyone is also invited to take part in our fun Wear It Green Day activities.
More information and resources to get involved in Mental Health Awareness Week are available on our website www.mentalhealth.org.uk/mhaw.
Julie Cameron
Associate Director
Mental Health Foundation
69 West Nile Street
Glasgow
Spotting signs of child abuse
Nearly all adults in Scotland believe emotional abuse in childhood can have a lasting psychological effect, but only one in six can spot the signs of emotional abuse.
These findings, from a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the NSPCC, reveal that many adults struggle to identify behaviours such as being overly controlling of a child’s life, failing to show emotions in interactions with a child, and pushing a child too hard – even though we know emotional abuse can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on children’s wellbeing and development.
The research also found that two-thirds of adults (69 per cent) in Scotland surveyed had not done any training or reading to help them recognise the signs of emotional abuse.
Research suggests that in the UK, one in 15 children will experience emotional abuse. Many of these children reach out to Childline, which last year delivered almost 3000 counselling sessions on emotional abuse – a 5 per cent increase compared to 2022/23.
That’s why the NSPCC’s Listen up, Speak up campaign is so important. Free workshops and online resources help adults recognise when a child may be at risk and give practical guidance on what action to take. Emotional abuse can be just as harmful as physical abuse, so it is important we all take responsibility for protecting vulnerable children.
Our campaigns team is available to visit organisations in Scotland to deliver Listen up, Speak up. If you are part of a business, public or community group, get in touch to arrange a workshop.
Educating ourselves and speaking up could make all the difference in a child’s life. Every adult has the power to change a child’s future for the better – by listening, learning and taking action. No child should have to suffer in silence.
To find out more, visit the NSPCC website.
Carla Malseed
Local Campaigns Manager
NSPCC Scotland
