Power Shift / Highland community councils unite to demand a say in Scotland’s energy future
Shetland News publishes this article as part of our Power Shift project
COMMUNITY councils from across the Highland Council area came together in Beauly on Saturday 14 June to express frustration over the rapid rollout of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure and the exclusion of local voices in the planning and decision making process, writes Vox Vallium.
The gathering involved 52 community councils representing over 72,000 Highland residents, and marked a significant escalation in the grassroots resistance to projects such as the Spittal-Beauly 400kV overhead line and associated substations, battery storage facilities and wind farms.
The convention was hosted by community councils of Kirkhill & Bunchrew, Kiltarlity, Sleat, Muir of Ord, Strathnairn, Kilmorack and Strathglass, all of which stand to be directly or indirectly affected by the construction of the proposed 867-acre Fanellan substation site.
Highland councillor Helen Crawford of Aird & Loch Ness Ward, who successfully campaigned for Highland Council to publish an updated energy map to help communities track the scale and spread of energy-related planning applications, chaired the event which aimed to allow as many community councils as possible to make statements.
Susan Ogston of Kiltarlity Community Council said: “We are fighting for the future of our communities. In Kiltarlity, the proposed developments threaten to change our village forever.
“But this is not about aesthetics, this is about our health, our safety and our way of life.”
Many speakers stressed that they were not opposed to net-zero or renewable energy per se, but it came down to the way these projects were being planned and imposed upon communities and landscapes.
Andy Fraser of Kilmorack Community Council said: “We accept the reality of and the issues associated with climate change. But the sheer volume of recent and current applications, many of which are simultaneous, do not always give us as communities the opportunity to fully review and respond to them in an appropriate and timeous manner.
“And the driver of many of these initiatives appears to be greed and profitability for companies.”
Andrew Robinson of Skeabost Community Council on Skye and co-ordinator of Skye Windfarm Information group, contrasted shareholder profits of a wind farm with community benefit payments, citing a payout of £51 million to shareholders compared with just £700,000 over 16 years for local communities.
He spoke of how developers put pressure on community councils, who are often strapped for cash, and rush them to sign community benefit contracts.
Several speakers called for an immediate stop to new renewable energy developments.
“It’s time for governments to pause and take stock,” said one. “Stop and think and introduce a moratorium.”
Alison Gordon of Ardross Community Council summed up how many felt with the often-heard phrase: “Enough is enough”, fist raised.
With the crowd noisily applauding each speaker, it was clear that delegations were hungry for unity and solidarity.
An Invergordon councillor said: “We never imagined that we would need to monitor and prepare responses to planning applications for the wider Highlands.
“Our belief is that community councils need to come together to support each other and respond appropriately to all applications, regardless of where they are.”
Cllr Phil Mackintosh of Strathnairn argued that coordinated resistance was required to make an impact: “The only way that we can change things, is if we all stand together and speak as one.”
During a public comment section, campaigner Lyndsey Ward of Communities B4 Power Companies criticised developers for routinely scoping out health and wellbeing metrics from their environmental impact assessments.
She said risk factors linked to electromagnetic fields, radio frequency interference, major accidents and disasters, and air quality and climate were simply not being accounted for.
The convention concluded with the presentation of a joint statement by delegates, signalling the intent to continue coordinated resistance and increase political pressure. It was adopted unanimously via a show of hands.
The three-point statement called:
- for urgent support to communities in the face of repeated disregard shown by the Scottish Government for local planning decisions;
- for the creation of a commission to address the full cumulative impact of renewable energy developments; and
- for a stop to all applications until a clear energy policy is in place.
Dan Bailey of Strathpeffer-based campaign group Better Cable Route said: “It carries much more moral weight if community councils are speaking with one voice.
“If they’re all speaking together and drawing this picture of a region under threat, then it’s far harder to be ignored by decision makers. We are being sidelined and we need a stronger voice.”
Denise Davies of Communities B4 Power Companies said: “To know that 52 councils were here representing 72,000 people across the Highlands is really refreshing.
“Hopefully this might give the community councils some leverage to get a meeting with the Scottish Government and get ministers like Gillian Martin [cabinet secretary for climate action and energy] and our very own Kate Forbes [deputy first minister] to start listening.
“Maybe they’ll just go ‘yeah you represented 72,000 people today, we should listen to you’ rather than just constantly going to meetings with SSEN and big energy companies.”
Although no MSPs attended the event, Jamie Stone [Liberal Democrat] MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was present.
When asked if he would support a moratorium, Stone said: “Talk of a moratorium is symptomatic, I think, of people’s discontent with the way the process is being followed.
“They feel they have no say in what’s being proposed. And there was also a push today to have some sort of “hold it for a moment” and let’s have a look at what we’re talking about here.
“The minister and the Scottish Government would do very well to lug in and see what was said just now in Beauly. Let’s see what happens next.”
There were no Beauly community councillors present, but there was symbolic importance of hosting the event in the town, given its centrality in development plans.
A resident of Beauly who attended the meeting said community councils coming together was “the only way forward to defeat the lack of democracy that is prevailing.”
Meanwhile, more than 50 campaign groups from across Scotland, including Sustainable Shetland, have signed a letter to first minister John Swinney calling for an immediate moratorium on wind farm developments.
Co-ordinated by the Scottish Beacon and supported by the Tenacious Journalism Awards, the project aims to amplify local voices, facilitate cross-community learning and push for fair, transparent energy development.
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