October 2, 2012
Scotland

Claim public ‘misled’

The Courier | 2 October 2012

Communities against Wind Turbines (CATS) has accused the Scottish Government of “misleading” the public over money to help local councils cope with the deluge of planning applications for wind turbines which many are struggling under.

A spokesperson for CATS said the weekend announcement was not new money – it was announced by the Scottish Government in June in a letter to all local councils encouraging them to use it to specify more areas for wind development so it would be easier for developers to find suitable sites.

The spokesperson added: “Announcing the same tranche of money several times was a spin tactic developed by the Blair government and now rife in Westminster.

“It is designed to give the impression that government is recognising and addressing a particular need considerably more than it in fact is.

“Local councils in Scotland won’t be impressed. As it is, the amount of money each hard-pressed council can apply for is nugatory – they can bid for a share of £ 280,000 not to exceed £75,000 – and will make little difference to the crippling workloads and stretched budgets of those departments dealing with applications from wind energy hotspots, such as Aberdeenshire, Fife, Dumfries-shire and the Highlands.

“In fact, since the initial announcement in June, the situation across Scotland has worsened, with ever more applications for single turbines and wind farms flooding in.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/02/claim-public-misled/