A leading SNP member of the Scottish Parliament has condemned a batch of intimidating letters sent to people who have objected to wind turbine proposals.

A leading SNP member of the Scottish Parliament has condemned a batch of intimidating letters sent to people who have objected to wind turbine proposals.

The crudely written and mis-spelt letters were sent to three people in the Stranraer area of Dumfries and Galloway and are now being investigated by the police.

Chic Brodie, the MSP for the South of Scotland, has issued a statement in which he says:” The Scottish Government abhors this kind of aggression and nonsense and will not tolerate it. I would encourage those affected to involve the police at the earliest opportunity.”

Two of the letters were sent to retired GP Angela Armstrong, 71, and her husband Andrew Shiells, 67, at their farmhouse home in Barrachan, near Port William. The third went to a woman in the Glenluce area.

Dr Armstrong and her husband have been among those fighting plans by the French giant EDF to site eighteen 450-foot turbines close to their homes. She has also been a critic of the local community council, which recently “co-opted” the actual applicant for another turbine project in what has been described as an “irregular manner”.

Shortly afterwards three letters of support for local wind projects were sent — in the name of the Community Council — to regional planners. At least one of them claimed that all 14 community council members supported it. But this appears not to have been the case and the letters were either rejected by Dumfries and Galloway council, or withdrawn.

The letter sent to Dr Armstrong was addressed in an abusive manner. It claimed to have been sent from a group calling itself “Stranraer Wind Farm Enthusiasts” and claimed it has “1200 members and growing”.

Dr Armstrong said: “What’s worrying is the writer’s apparent local knowlege. He, or she, complains about the posters we and some neighbours have put up along what is a remote piece of country road. I am also warned to “stop fighting with Port William Council.”

Her husband said: “It’s a bit worrying beace our home is a bit remote. In common with many others the value of our homes have been destroyed by the prospect of a massive industrial turbine project on a site starting 50-yards from our back door. We are perfectly entitled to object to that and many politicians, including members of the SNP, have been very supportive.

“On the face of it one might dismiss the writer as just a nutter; but we’re well aware that there have been physical attacks on the homes and vehicles of anti-turbine protestors in other areas. So far, we’ve just had our posters torn down on a regular basis.”

Mr Shiells added: “I’m recovering from an operation following a heart attack, which happened on the way home from a protest at the last SNP conference in Perth. I can do without this kind of intrusion and hassle.”

The police have offered advice to the couple on tightening security.

MSP Chic Brodie, while a supporter of renewable energy, said:”We do not want to split communities which is why I am against community benefits. I support an element of community ownership where agreement can be consensual.

“It is high time the landowners, particualarly the absentee ones, stopped hiding under the energy blanket as it is for thoe who might benefit by supporting applications without declaring an interest.”

Here’s Mr Brodie’s statement in full:
Chic Brodie SNP MSP for the South of Scotland said, “The Scottish Government and its local representatives abhor this kind of aggression and nonsense and will not tolerate it.
As a nation, we need and support renewable energy and support it where it embraces the interest of all, and we mean all. The current debate about switching lights off in South East England demands a concerted and cohesive approach to energy supply at home here in Scotland.
We do not want to split communities which is why I have declared on many occasions I am against the principal of community benefits but support an element of community ownership. Agreement can then be consensual.
It is high time also the landowners, and particularly the absentee ones, stopped hiding under the energy blanket as it is for those who might benefit by supporting applications without declaring an interest.
If these alleged letters come from some person involved in some way with the application I trust that the law will be exercised in the most robust way if the law has been abused.

This kind of nonsense has nothing to do with the Scottish Government strategy or action on energy development and I would encourage those affected to inform and involve the police at the earliest opportunity as I am sure they will have done”