February 8, 2021
Letters, Scotland

Policy encourages Scottish wind farms

Scottish wind farm policy is undemocratic- your views | Does rural Scotland have anyone to speak for them? | Edinburgh Evening News | 8th February 2021 | www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com

If a foreigner were to look at a map of wind farms and current wind farm applications in the UK, I think they would assume a helpless Scotland had had them all dumped on their glorious landscape by a Westminster government.

I think they would find it inexplicable that a Scottish Nationalist government had driven this policy.

A once proudly democratic nation does not have the same rights as people in England.

Vattenfall’s managing director of onshore wind was quoted as saying Scotland is seen as having an “open door policy” and the kind of stable environment in terms of policy that encourages firms to develop wind arms in the country.

“England has primarily pushed everything off-shore,” noted Mr Elsworth, adding: “It has introduced policy which is quite a barrier to development: The requirement for demonstrable local support of over 50 per cent and demonstrating that your wind farms are captured in local development plans, they’re quite significant hurdles.”

Shouldn’t locals in Scotland have the same rights? Shouldn’t legally binding Local Plans, which take years and consultations to prepare, be adhered to

Why should local councils have to pay, out of our council tax, for public inquiries to uphold our Local Plans?

A single unelected government Reporter with ministerial approval with an “open door policy” decides these inquiries.

The wind industry has taken advantage of lockdown and is pushing ahead with expansion while there can be no proper public consultation or live public inquiries.

Does rural Scotland have anyone to speak for them? Wake up Scotland. This is your country.

Celia Hobbs, Peebles Road, Penicuik.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/02/08/policy-encourages-scottish-wind-farms/