Renewables & Community Voice

Communities must have a voice in the future of renewables. I will work to ensure local perspectives are heard and respected.

I received an excellent email asking me to expand on the above statement with specific regard to a proposed Wind Farm Development on Skye. The simple response is that when there is an overwhelming community rejection for any proposal, the project should not go ahead. It was the same as the National Park proposal that was rejected in 2024. 

As you know, I am on the outside of Highland Council looking in right now so I am making an educated guess on how to go about representing the community. Advocating within Highland Council as a councillor will require working with the other elected members and staff to ensure the rejection of the proposal is firstly acknowledged, and secondly respected.  We all know that there are other communities facing other proposals. My priority would be to work collectively with them and their councillors to ensure a united voice is heard. 

I know from my work with Community Land Scotland that nationally, and internationally, other communities have gone through this. Building connections with organisations such as CLS, and especially their policy team, would help to raise the issue beyond Highland Council and take it to policy makers via an additional route.

I attended the Community Land Scotland annual conference and it is worth raising awareness of one project that I see as potentially aspiration for Skye and Raasay. On Friday, there was a workshop session focused on West Coast Community Energy Ltd – a collaborative Negotiation Case Study. To translate, how do you work together to take power for your community. Three community owned estates are working together to build their own wind farm. This gives them control of the scale, the build, and the investment. There are risks and one comment of having to sign a loan for over a million pounds was coming up. This is the other end of the scale where communities are taking risk and making the most of the opportunities. Here on Skye, that opportunity is possible but it would be a significant amount of work to get there.

What is being proposed on Skye is not considering the communities. I will not promise to be able to stop anything. What I will promise to put my passion for community to the forefront and always put us first. Some will know of my interest in Highland history. I will always be on the side of those living and working here.