Caithness group in plea to Highland Council over ‘attack’ on rural communities

A campaign group has called on Highland Council to take account of the wellbeing of rural residents in Caithness who are “under attack” from onshore wind developments.

Save Caithness is asking its supporters to have their say on the local authority’s draft Caithness Area Place Plan, which seeks to “capture priorities” as part of “future masterplanning for the area”.

The group insists “most residents of Caithness don’t want to see any more turbines”.

Save Caithness aims to help communities oppose large-scale energy schemes. It was launched last year by Tony Shaw, one of a group of residents in the Bowertower area opposing the proposed Swarclett Wind Farm.

The group’s April newsletter states: “We want to see Highland Council act with more responsibility for the wellbeing of Caithness rural residents in particular.”

Supporters are invited to make their views known at each stage of the Caithness Area Place Plan process by registering, responding and signing up for notifications.

The newsletter points out: “Almost half (46 per cent) of Caithness residents live outwith the main population centres of Wick, Thurso, Castletown and Halkirk and they have been under attack for some while.”

It claims the council’s onshore wind farm policy “shows no regard for rural residents of Caithness” and a revision of it five years ago “simply twisted the knife by removing protective bubbles from around Watten, Dunbeath and elsewhere”.

It goes on: “We are now at a point when even the most devout fanatic of turbine proliferation can surely recognise that the Highland Council onshore wind farm policy is no longer appropriate. Not only is it clear that most residents of Caithness don’t want to see any more turbines, the need for more turbines in order to satisfy net-zero targets has disappeared.”

Save Caithness points to a section of the draft Caithness Area Place Plan which notes that “car ownership is seen by many as essential”. The draft document goes on: “Disappointingly, the need to travel has been magnified by sporadic housing in the countryside… by those not willing or able to find suitable accommodation within the main settlements.

“Locating additional facilities and services within the major centres of Wick and Thurso could help reverse this trend so that a higher proportion of people’s daily needs could be within a shorter more sustainable journey.”

Save Caithness says: “In other words, it is seen as acceptable to make life more difficult for rural residents to satisfy some perceived notion that everything is determined by reducing the need to travel.

“There is no recognition of why people might choose to live in rural locations, whether through generations of family residence, agricultural employment or simply a strong preference for rural living, despite the known hardships.

“The overall impression gained from reading the draft report is that it has been prepared by individuals with no clear understanding or direct experience of the lives of rural Caithness residents.”

Highland Council pointed out that considerably more onshore wind energy capacity is likely to be required help achieve decarbonisation of Scottish and UK energy needs and reach net-zero targets.

As onshore wind energy technology has advanced, the council added, “typically it is larger turbines that are being proposed”. Many schemes coming forward now therefore meet the threshold for applications to be determined by Scottish ministers rather than the local authority.

The council is in the early stages of a new Highland Local Development Plan, with an extended period for responses up until May 2 via the council website.

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