August 22, 2007
Scotland
Scotland
People in the Forres area who are familiar with the Dava Moor are being urged to go along to a meeting being held in Grantown on Spey tomorrow (Thursday), where plans which could make a drastic difference to the scenic wilderness are being discussed.
The meeting, which has been organised by the “Save Our Dava” campaign group, will be attended by Cameron McNeish from the Ramblers Association, MEP Struan Stevenson and former president of the RSPB Roy Dennis, among others.
Spokesperson for the Save Our Dava group, Jeannie Munro, who has previously opposed proposals which could see up to five windfarm companies erect turbines on hills around one side of the Dava which would be visible for miles around, said a lot of work had gone into the meeting and she urged members of the public to go along and inform themselves and make up their own minds.
“We are concentrating on the beauty of the Dava,” she said. “We particularly want to inform people about how precious the peat bogs are, and about how ripping them up can cause environmental damage.”
Mrs Munro claimed carbon contained within the peat bog would be lost if the blanket bogs were ripped up to make way for wind turbines, losing a valuable natural resource for ever.
“People just don’t realise this.” she said. “We have done a lot of work to prepare for this meeting and will have a lot of information about the Dava and the peat bogs on display, including photo montages of the whole Dava basin and the wildlife which lives there.”
The meeting which is being held from 1pm to 2.30pm at the Ben Mhor Hotel, will also focus on proposals to construct wind farms, with applications currently lodged at Highland Council for developments at Berryburn and Glenkirk, with another three companies scoping opinion in the area. Mrs Munro claims that all the turbines will be visible from the Dava and the Lochindorb area.
“This exhibition will be on all parts of the Dava Moor,” she added. “We don’t just want people to think we are a group based on anti-windfarm campaigning.
We are interested in the Dava and it wouldn’t matter who was planning to do what on it, we would be interested.”
She said that since articles appeared in the “Forres Gazette” about the proposed development that a number of interested individuals have contacted the group to offer support and she has been interviewed on the radio.
The BBC have expressed an interest in the issue and are planning on filming in the area later this week.
For further information about the Save Our Dava Group contact Mrs Munro on 01309 651281.
By Tanya McLaren
22 August 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/08/22/public-urged-to-attend-save-our-dava-meeting/