We need economic development to support our communities
Sir – I welcome and congratulate the Peatland Partnerships’ success in being awarded £4 million by Heritage Lottery Fund for its Flow to the Future project.
Apparently the partnership now only needs a further £5,600,000 and it will be able to restore 18km2 of peatland habitat.
These are astonishingly large sums of public money and I wonder how many jobs and other community benefits will accrue?
SSE Renewables has also undertaken to restore and actively manage peatland – over 30km2 of it – if it is given the go-ahead for its proposed Strathy South wind farm. This project has been carefully designed to minimise any threats to wildlife and promises real local jobs and with not a penny from Heritage Lottery Fund or the like.
In fact, the wind farm will pump millions into the local economy through these jobs, community benefit funds and opportunities for local community groups to invest and reap the rewards of the development.
Meanwhile RSPB – a key member of the Peatland Partnership – continues to throw money at its campaign opposing the wind farm. It’s published a new and equally ill-considered leaflet and widely distributed it along the north coast.
It astonishes me that it should merrily grab public funds with little benefit promised for the community and yet spend more money attempting to stop the generation of sustainable income for our communities.
We need economic development and a vibrant voluntary sector to support and strengthen our fragile rural economies and communities.
Flow to the Future will help a bit, the proposed wind farm at Strathy South will help much much more.
Simon Lee,
Hillview,
119 Newlands,
Bettyhill.
