Two political parties in Scotland – along with individual SNP MSPs – have
called on the Scottish Government and SSE not to pursue costs against the
John Muir Trust over the Stronelairg wind farm judicial review.
The Trust initially won a judicial review against the giant wind farm in
the heart of Monadliath Mountains, but the decision was later overturned by
appeal judges.
Highland MSP John Finnie, on behalf of the Scottish Green Party
parliamentary group, and Maurice Golden, Environment Spokesperson for the
Scottish Conservative Party, have written separately to Scottish Energy
Minister Paul Wheelhouse and to SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies.
They make the point that, in the public interest, both should waive their
right to pursue legal costs against the Trust. Individual SNP MSPs are also
understood to have raised the same point with the Minister.
Under the Aarhus Convention, individual citizens and non-governmental
organisations acting in the public interest should have access to fair,
equitable, and timely legal review procedures that are not ‘prohibitively
expensive’.
The Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Conservatives, together with
other individual MSPs, note that John Muir Trust took the Stronelairg
action in the public interest and therefore should not now be facing
punitive legal bills incurred by the government and SSE.
Helen McDade, Head of Policy for the Trust, said: “We would like to thank
the Scottish Greens, Scottish Conservatives and those individual MSPs for
taking this principled stand in defence of environmental justice.
“The Trust took the action over Stronelairg in the public interest because
there had been no opportunity for proper public scrutiny of the
environmental impact of the proposal.
“Although we are disappointed that the final decision went against us, the
legal action did throw the spotlight onto some of the flaws in the planning
system.”
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