Chamber and committees

Alec Kidd submission of 2 June 2021

PE1864/B - Increase the ability of communities to influence planning decisions for onshore windfarms

The Scottish Parliament prides itself with being progressive and community based. It is very unfair that the Scottish public are not as supported by the planning system as the public are in England.

This is particularly apparent when it comes to Wind Farm Planning Applications, which do not get the support from the Scottish Government, as happens in England.

This results in many, many, many more wind farm applications being forced through in Scotland against the wishes of communities and in some cases against the wishes of locally elected planning committees.

This democratic injustice has seen Scotland turned into a giant industrial landscape, when in a lot of occasions, it is completely against the will and wishes of the people who are most effected by the development. These people are also part of the community which have to live with the consequences of this sometimes disproportionate rural industrialisation.

The Viking Energy 103 turbine wind farm in Shetland is a typical development, which totally disproportionate to the size of the Island.

This massive wind farm is being constructed, not to supply the local community with power, but to provide power for the North of England, many hundreds of miles away.

The project was passed by a local Planning Committee in spite of overwhelming and unprecedented objections by the public. The reason given, by the Committee, which is well documented, was "it’s a done deal".

It is sad that these local committee members were so disenfranchised by the Scottish Planning System, that they had this apathetic attitude. They felt that they could do nothing, as objecting would just be overruled by the Scottish Government Reporter. It is a disgrace.

This situation is and rightly should be an embarrassment and an afront to local and national democracy. We still do not live in a dictatorship. Scotland is a forward thinking, open and welcoming place, however our planning system bias to the developer would, in my opinion, be better placed in North Korea!