YOUR VIEWS: ‘This is an environmental and human disaster on a unprecedented scale’

‘Unprecedent’ human disaster

The news that SSEN have already announced contract partners to great fanfare for projects that as yet have not gone in for planning begs the question: do they know something, affected communities don't?

SSEN have said that the Brush group will be the contractor for Caithness although based in Loughborough, England they recently acquired McGowen who are Aviemore based, hence they can claim it's local employment !

According to the blurb put out by Brush and I quote "McGowen has impressive environmental credentials which adds a new dimension to our engineering capabilities".

This begs another question - what would these amazing credentials be, that they can concrete massive slabs of concrete into peatlands and put tracks all over, where curlews nest, and put pylons on flight paths of migrating geese without causing any environmental damage?

This is an environmental and human disaster on a unprecedented scale, a halt must be called. Full costings of all options must be made available and communities voices must be heard.

Scotland produces way more renewable energy than it needs. Why are we destroying more of its iconic landscape and fragile ecosystems to line the pockets of a few individuals and feed the egos of those in Holyrood?

Alison Ellerington

Battery storage plan for Limekiln wind farm

If the demand for electricity is so high in the south of England, why not build the windfarms down there?

We have too many windfarms in Caithness, thanks to the Scottish government. Why can't we get cheaper electricity? Community benefits do not benefit all the community.

Dawn Miles, Reay

Loganair Wick stop

The proposed Wick stop off is an excellent idea!

As a former Caithness resident with family still in the area, I used to use the Edinburgh-Wick-Kirkwall service a lot.

Its discontinuation was a great loss.

And funnily enough, it was always a lot more reliable than the current Wick-Aberdeen service.

Karen H, Munich

Wick stop ‘makes sense’

My husband and I would love to be able to visit our family further South but feel very cut off here in the North.

We used to regularly fly to Edinburgh with Flybe but now there is no flight to Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Please look at this seriously if there is a flight from Orkney or Shetland surely it makes sense to stop off at Wick.

Rhona Mckeown, Keiss

‘Fly in the ointment’

A little while ago I wrote a letter to your esteemed organ commenting on the huge opportunities that were being bestowed upon the lucky people of Caithness courtesy of a wee plane flying up and down to Aberdeen occasionally.

St. Maree of the Todd and the Godfather were regaling us with visions of increased health care, education, employment and leisure among other glittering prizes.

To be fair though, we already have a pretty big leisure centre at Dounreay. Or is it a rest home? Hard to be sure these days.

Anyway, the real message of course was that it was all due to the selfless actions of St. Maree who bravely carried the banner of Caithness into the lion’s den (the soon to retire Fiona Hyslop’s office) in Holyrood, home of the SNP Scottish Government in case you’ve forgotten.

And neither should we forget the role played by the Godfather, modestly toiling away in the background behind closed doors.

It seems now that a wee fly has flown into the ointment.

A revised timetable has already come into effect dropping Monday and Friday morning flights from the schedule and reducing others. The Godfather says the changes were made “in order to ensure the continued sustainability of the route.” The St. is silent.

Is Eastern Airways aware of the economic and cultural devastation this will wreak here in the North. Does it care?

Readers will recall from my previous letter that I was somewhat sceptical about all the benefits soon to be winging our way. It wasn’t without a degree of sarcasm that I asked that with the original scheme being endorsed by the SNP Government, St. Maree and the Godfather, “What could possibly go wrong?”

Well, call it optimistic naivety and I ought to have known better, but the question should of course have been, “What could possibly go right?”

Ian McElroy, Thurso

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