Chamber and committees

Matthew Reiss submission of 4 June 2021

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

I write in support of petition number PE1864/A from Scotland Against Spin.

BACKGROUND

I have seven years of experience as a local Councillor, trying to help a remote rural community moderate or halt a succession of large on shore wind farm applications.

The community of Reay is in the Thurso and NW Caithness Ward of Highland Council. We have the highest rate of population decline in Highland. We - that is the county of Caithness - probably also have more Renewable Energy developments in our uniquely flat and once unspoilt landscape than anywhere in Scotland.

We host a section of the world-renowned North Coast 500 route and the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland is the UK’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

CONCLUSIONS

As a former Police Officer fairness, transparency and democracy are precious to me. My seven years of “investigation” have led me to conclude that the reality is that local communities are utterly insignificant in a centralised and profoundly undemocratic planning system. I am no longer surprised when they run out of hard-won voluntary funding or simply “give up”. I suggest students of the 22nd century will look back on what is currently happening to our landscapes, people and natural environment and study how this scandal was allowed to take place, with the full blessing of the State.

OBSERVATIONS

My observations on this petition can be summarised as follows:

1, Economic health is essential to a fragile rural community such as my Ward. Tourism brings many jobs and prosperity, as well as improved mental health, physical health and “hope”. To date the oft touted jobs bonanza from on shore windfarm sites has not been evident in Caithness. Tourists visit the far North because of the “wildness”- the sense of solitude, peacefulness, big skies and nature at its best. The sense of being somewhere that is totally and unexpectedly different and uplifting. As a colleague once said, “Caithness may be bleak but it is beautifully bleak”. Europe does not have anything like the environment of the North, just as it does not host the Northern Lights. I believe that too many on shore windfarms will destroy this attractiveness.

2, When I unsuccessfully discussed these thoughts with the then Minister, Mr Paul Wheelhouse, a member of the Energy Consents Unit effectively said that the numbers of objectors are irrelevant to any Appeal or Inquiry - it is merely the material subject matter of any objections that is considered. This is NOT democracy. It is the opposite, especially when the language used is incomprehensible to the public. They are not “receptors”, they are people. The Minister ultimately refused to conduct any new research into the aspects of multiple and continuous on shore wind farm applications.

There is an answer, and it can be found south of the Border where Parish Councils have substantial powers to support or object to planning applications. The contrast is striking. Recently a Green MSP specifically commented on the Caithness situation concerning on shore wind, specifically stating any further developments should only be consented with the backing of local residents. From a Green politician, that is a strong and thought-provoking assertion.

3, The terminology used throughout official papers is daunting for “ordinary” people. So much so there is a necessity to seek professional help. This is very expensive. Applicants routinely use well paid QCs to argue their case. Their costs are well beyond local campaign groups. Equitable and democratic? Resoundingly “no”. The planning system is not transparent, it is murky and hard to fathom. It is far from accessible to lay people. It is a David against Goliath situation when the winner is often not the “Davids”. It is not unreasonable to summarise this aspect that for most members of the public the current system is, in practical terms, largely inaccessible because of these issues. It should be made as accessible as it can be, given these are complex matters.

4, I am not anti-renewable energy - far from it. The main answer to the issues outlined above is actually simple - off shore wind produces more power, more reliably and without hundreds of sincere objections.

Depopulation and a sense of simple helplessness in the face of what are literally gigantic spinning industrial structures imposed on our gentle, low lying, historic landscapes need to be resolved and I respectfully submit these comments as part of the Petition.