Highland councillor Ruraidh Stewart calls for Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit to be scrapped saying it has become ‘tool for bypassing local democracy’
A Highland councillor has called for the Scottish Government’s decision-making unit on energy infrastructure applications to be scrapped after a meeting saw community councils from across the Highlands come together against the sheer amount of renewable projects planned for the region.
Councillor Ruraidh Stewart, Scottish Conservative candidate for Inverness & Nairn at the next Holyrood elections, has called for the Energy Consents Unit to be scrapped to end what he describes as the SNP’s “power grab” over Highland decision-making.
He spoke after attending the Community Councils’ Renewable Convention in Inverness yesterday, which saw hundreds of people in attendance and resulted in eleven MPs and MSPs backing calls for “urgent debates” in Holyrood and Westminster over the impact of renewable energy developments in the Highlands.
“I’ve spoken with people from across the Highlands today, and the message is clear,” he said.
“They’ve had enough of decisions being made by people who never have to live with the consequences.
“We must end the SNP power grab and abolish the Energy Consents Unit. Decisions about the Highlands must be made here in the Highlands. That’s how we protect local democracy and that’s how we save the Highlands.”
The convention brought together campaigners, community leaders, and elected representatives from across the region, united in their call for major energy projects to be paused until communities are fully consulted and their consent secured.
Councillor Stewart said the Energy Consents Unit has become a tool for bypassing local democracy, allowing SNP ministers to overrule community concerns and council objections.