Stand up for nature
On the same day that we hear seven wind turbines in France were denounced as a “cemetery for birds” and are to be dismantled after a court ruling as they caused “serious and proven” environmental damage, we are told that NatureScot is bracing themselves for a whopping 15 per cent funding cut in next week’s Scottish Budget (your report,14 December).
We have already witnessed the decline in NatureScot’s ability to scrutinise and respond to wind farm applications for over a decade due to their lack of resources. This, of course, suits the Scottish Government and developers down to the ground as there is less opposition to their plans – unbelievable profits for developers and mega millions in rent and non-domestic rates for the Government when planning permission is granted for development on public land. This is a gross conflict of interest as it is the Scottish ministers who give consent to large scale-wind farms and they are therefore effectively lining their own pockets. Our new National Planning Framework (NPF4) tells us that the Biodiversity crisis is equally as important as climate change and stipulates that it should be enhanced rather than merely maintained.
Who is going to stand up for nature if our experts on the natural heritage are gagged through lack of funding?
Aileen Jackson, Scotland Against Spin, Uplawmoor, East Renfrewshire
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