Communities need wind farm voice
Letters | The Herald | www.heraldscotland.com
The Greens want to upgrade existing wind farms and relax planning restrictions to make it easier to install wind farms. Have they asked rural communities for their opinion?
Insensitively-sited wind farms are objected to in droves by local people and councils as well as statutory consultees such as RSPB and Nature Scot, but the Scottish Government ploughs ahead, overturning these democratically-made decisions, and there is no right of appeal for third parties other than through judicial review which is financially dangerous and out of reach of the average person.
Rather than adjusting planning procedures to allow for easier consent, applications should undergo greater scrutiny to account for the increased negative impact these upgraded, much larger turbines will have on people, wildlife and the environment.
Campaign group Scotland Against Spin has lodged a public petition in parliament calling on the Scottish Government to “increase the ability of communities to influence planning decisions for onshore wind farms”. For the sake of rural communities throughout this country, I pray it is successful.
Aileen Jackson, Uplawmoor.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/04/14/communities-need-wind-farm-voice/