First Minister John Swinney urged to visit Kyle of Sutherland to see impact of renewable energy developments on the area for himself

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney is being urged to visit Sutherland and see for himself the impact that the proliferation of renewable energy developments is having on the landscape and on local people.

Councillor Michael Baird, who represents the North, West and Central Sutherland ward, is calling on Mr Swinney to hold a Cabinet meeting in Lairg or Inverness and take a tour of the Kyle of Sutherland area.

He wants the cabinet to discuss local people’s concerns about proposed wind farms, battery parks, pylons and solar farms.

Cllr Baird is now asking local residents to put pressure on Highlands MSPs in the hope that they will use their influence with Mr Swinney to persuade him to travel north.

He said: “I am asking for everyone’s support in writing to their list MSPs and getting them to urge John Swinney to arrange a cabinet meeting in Inverness or Lairg and then get the cabinet members to have a site visit to the Lairg, Rosehall, and Strathcarron area to see where they are destroying this wonderful scenic area.”

But in a letter to the Northern Times, Bonar Bridge resident Andrew Graham-Stewart has questioned whether Scotland's politicians are interested in the views of local communities.

Instead, he has accused them of a “headlong rush and determination to bury parts of the north Highlands under a sea of wind turbines and pylons - whatever the collateral impact on and costs to local communities”.

The Kyle of Sutherland area comprises communities within Ardgay and District and Creich Community Council areas.

The area has proved popular with renewable energy developers and, according to campaign group No Ring of Steel (NoROS) the area is facing a total of 274 turbines from wind farms tha are either operational, under construction, in planning or in scoping.

However, the latest proposed development is proving to be a tipping point.

German energy company RWE announced plans earlier this year for the 29-turbine, 191MW Inveroykel Wind Farm and associated battery park.

The turbines would be up to 230m in height - more than twice the height of the Rosemarkie transmitter.

The development, which is at an early stage, is earmarked to go on land close to RWE’s operational Rosehall Wind Farm, approximately 9km south of Lairg and 9km north-west of Ardgay and Bonar Bridge.

The site includes land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland - RWE has been granted rights to develop the land for a potential wind farm.

RWE held consultation events in Culrain Hall and Bonar Bridge in November and will return to the communities with updated layout plans in mid-2025. The company hopes to submit an application to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit by late summer 2005.

Local residents are angry that Forest and Land Scotland did not consult them before granting rights over public land to a third party.

Cllr Baird said that former First Minister Alex Salmond had set a precedent for holding cabinet meetings outside of Edinburgh during Holyrood’s summer recess, with a meeting held in Inverness Town Hall in August 2008 and in Dornoch in July 2010.

He said: “The cabinet could easily meet at Lairg Community Centre, which has all the facilities they need, including wi-fi. They would then be able to see exactly what is happening in this area - at the moment they don’t have a clue.

“I am sure if a company came along and proposed putting a development on Arthur’s Seat or at Holyrood, they would make a noise about it.”

But Mr Graham-Stewart writes: “It appears that SNP MSPs, the Scottish Government and its agencies are all signed up to UK Minister Ed Miliband’s net zero crusade, whatever the consequences. Local community views are routinely ignored by planners and the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit. So-called consultations with communities are just tick-box exercises.”

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