News Release
Cameron McNeish, Vice President of Ramblers’ Association Scotland, has condemned today’s decision by Clackmannanshire Council to approve a 26 Megawatt windfarm at Burnfoot, in the Ochils hill range between Stirling and Perth. The development by Wind Prospect Limited involves 13 turbines each 102 metres high close to the highest hill in the Ochils, Ben Cleuch (721 metres), to the west of Glen Devon. The five Labour councillors on the planning committee voted in favour of the development with four SNP and one Conservative opposed. The convenor (Labour) then used his casting vote to approve the development.
Cameron McNeish said:
“These Labour councillors have shown a contemptuous disregard for the wildness and beauty of the Scottish Hills. To ignore the advice of their own landscape advisers, David Tyldesley Associates, Scottish Natural Heritage and the large number of individuals and interest groups who opposed this development suggests very little understanding of the issues at stake in the development of renewable energy.
The approval for the development comes in the midst of a public inquiry into four other proposed windfarm developments in the Ochils. Even before the inquiry started the Scottish Executive gave approval to Scottish Power for a major windfarm development at Green Knowes on the east side of Glen Devon. At the very least any decision on Burnfoot should have been put on hold until the outcome of the public inquiry.
Cameron McNeish said:
“The world famous Scottish landscape is being destroyed by Labour politicians, at Westminster, Holyrood and in Councils like Clackmannanshire. The Labour Government in Westminster continues pouring money into the pockets of the multinational energy companies through the Renewables Obligation, ignoring calls for its radical reform from the National Audit Office, Offgem and the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee and many other authoritative voices.”
At Holyrood, with just a few exceptions, it is virtually impossible to find a Labour politician who understands the issues or is even prepared to discuss them. When environmental groups organised a briefing a few weeks ago on the Beauly Denny powerline project, which has a fundamental bearing on future renewables policy for Scotland, politicians from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and SNP turned up. Sadly there was no sign of any Labour politician.
At local Council level we now see, in the example of Clackmannanshire, Labour politicians who appear to be more responsive to the needs of the energy companies than the wider public interest. It is a disgrace to see our landscapes treated in such a manner.”
Finally Cameron McNeish pointed out that these massive developments on the Scottish hills are not to meet Scotland’s needs but are all about the energy demands of England:
“Scotland does not need these enormous turbines, roads and power lines on our hills. Labour politicians are sacrificing the splendour of our world famous landscape because they cannot think up a better way to keep the kettles boiling in Birmingham.
With the Scottish and local elections a few weeks away there is still time for Labour politicians to convince the electorate that they will make radical changes to renewable energy policies if elected on 3 May. Otherwise many might conclude that no Scottish hill is safe from assault by giant turbines with a Labour politician in charge.”
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