Letters / Turbine poll meaningless
The VisitScotland Wind Farm Consumer Research poll throws up some interesting points for debate (Turbines don’t put off tourists; SN 25.4.12).
As is frequently the case, discussions on wide ranging topics generally ignore the unique geographical position and status of Shetland. This survey is no exception.
This is clearly illustrated by the prompt that “one of the main attractions of wind farms is that they are relatively unique – and few and far between.”
Respondents were divided on this one, but responses would inevitably have been different in the context of a small island as opposed to the mainland.
Those questioned were asked if they had ever seen a wind farm. Given that a 26 turbine farm is considered large on the mainland, the subsequent questions are predicated on this fact, rendering the results meaningless in the context of Shetland.
The relative size of average wind farms to their environment on the mainland, means that holiday makers can ooh and aah at a few turbines before driving around the corner and losing sight of them altogether.
Visitors to Shetland will find a totally different scenario. Many tourists visiting mainland Scotland seem to head for Edinburgh – not too many wind turbines there.
With regard to visiting a wind farm as an attraction, I suspect that £500+ travelling expenses for a family “wind farm experience” is a bit steep even for the pleasure of visiting one of the largest industrial sites in UK.
I get the strong impression that tourists appear to favour Shetland for its unique, wild, remote and beautiful landscape. It is a place to sample that rare commodity – total peace and quiet. It is also a place for interest specific holidays allied to nature and the environment unavailable anywhere else.
Shetland is different from the mainland to which this poll was aimed and its tourists are different too. A unique holiday in a unique location ceases to be an option if faced with just another wind farm.
Overall, twice as many respondents felt that seeing a wind farm would NOT add to their enjoyment of the countryside as opposed to those who felt it might. So much for Johann Lamont’s beautiful “dancing ladies.”
The largest grouping in this, and many other polls seems to be the “don’t knows” or “don’t cares” who, unlike us in Shetland (if this project ever sees the light of day) may never need to see a wind farm on the UK mainland.
Mike Bennett
Sandsound
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