‘I hear your concerns’: MSP Maree Todd under fire at Bonar Bridge meeting over proliferation of Kyle of Sutherland wind farms
Sutherland MSP Maree Todd has been left in little doubt about the anger and frustration of local communities over the proliferation of wind farms in the Kyle of Sutherland area.
The MSP was held to account at a meeting in Bonar Bridge Hall last night organised by the campaign group No Ring of Steel (NORoS) and attended by more than 140 people from Kyle of Sutherland communities.
NORoS administrator Tisi Dutton, who chaired the meeting, set the tone at the outset, by pointing out that there were six further wind farm applications currently proposed for the area.
She said: “The cumulative effect of this industrial intrusion into this rural landscape will be devastating and will wreak havoc on the environment.
“You and your government are overseeing the destruction of our strath, and not to draw your attention to the truth of what is going on means that we would be complicit in that destruction.”
Representatives of community groups put questions to Ms Todd which she had been able to see beforehand.
She was told that the planning process was unsatisfactory from start to finish, from the “tick box” public engagement exercises with outdated material carried out by developers to incomplete planning applications with no information on site access to the “undemocratic’ final decision.
Stephen Mackenzie, River Oykel fisheries manager, asked why the government was wasting so much public money going through the “sham" of a conventional planning process only to simply ignore all the decisions and recommendations made through the democratic process.
The government’s green light for the Strath Oykel Wind Farm was cited as an example - Highland Council and the government’s own planning reporters recommended that the development be turned down.
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Ms Dutton said the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which sets out planning policy, was not being followed and asked why there was no map of Scotland or the Highlands showing existing wind farm developments, pylon lines, or substations.
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“How can any government properly assess what the cumulative impact is without seeing the whole picture?” she asked.
Rosehall representative Col Colin Gilmour called for a moratorium on wind farms in the Kyle of Sutherland area, while Ardgay representative Kerry Hawthorne called for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to be made a statutory consultee on planning applications involving a battery energy storage system (BESS).
Graham Charge of Culrain called on Ms Todd to arrange for the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Dr Alasdair Allan, and the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin, to visit the area to see for themselves the impact of the electricity infrastructure.
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Ms Todd herself came under fire for her perceived lack of action.
Ian Bowles, Invershin, said: “What is happening here is wrong. Everyone is here for one reason and that is they care. What is happening to this place is disgusting.
“I know you have received dozens and dozens of letters and we hear the same story every time: “I will talk to someone”. What is it that you actually care about because it is not us?”
Andrew Graham-Stewart said: “Politicians are obsessed with developing green energy. Whatever the cost to communities like ours.”
In her defence, Ms Todd said Mr Bowles’ accusation was unfair.
She said: “The reality is that there is limited impact your local MSP can have on this process. I do speak up regularly on behalf of my constituents. I speak to developers, the government and the UK government to represent your views. Planning decisions are made within a legislative framework. That is the law of the land.”
She added: “I hear your concern and I will make sure they are heard in our parliament and I will pick up each individual issue you are raising with me.”
She said she did not agree that there was a case for a moratorium on energy infrastructure development in the Kyle of Sutherland and, and that it would be difficult to achieve anyway.
“I think there is a real case for a better understanding of the cumulative impact. The community has not always objected to wind farms, it is simply the number of wind farms that is the cause for concern now,” she said.
She continued: “I believe there needs to be balance. I think there is space in Scotland if you want to develop renewable energy projects. It does not have to be concentrated in this area. It is possible to achieve a balance.”
She agreed to seek a clearer definition of how ‘cumulative impact’ is interpreted in the legislative framework through which planning decisions are made.
Ms Todd also agreed to look into how the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service could be made a statutory consultee in BESS applications and she further agreed to try to facilitate a meeting at Holyrood between NORos members and local people and the relevant Ministers.
“I will come back to the community and update you on my efforts,” she said.
