YOUR VIEWS: Incinerator plans would be ‘landfill in the sky’
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An election candidate on city waste plans – and other letters from this week's paper
Your extensive report about Highland Council’s ambitious infrastructure “wish list” for the Inner Moray Firth area (5/4/22) omitted to mention the SNP, Labour, Lib Dem and Independents’ long-held but “under-the radar plans for an Energy from Waste incinerator on the Longman Estate in Inverness.
As with previous local development plans, the council’s recently-published draft Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan (IMFLDP) makes only passing reference to what is not only a highly contentious issue, but one that runs directly counter to councillors’ own climate change targets.
These councillors’ original mention of their incineration plans left much to be desired.
Buried deep within an earlier IMFLDP, they claimed – without any justification – that the Longman site was “particularly suited to waste management facilities including an Energy from Waste facility”.
Burning valuable resources and turning them into toxic ash (which still has to be landfilled), while expelling carbon emissions and pollution, makes no sense when we could reuse materials.
“Landfill in the sky”, incineration simply moves pollution from the ground to the air.
Instead, Scottish Greens want to move toward a system where there is less waste to dispose of, rather than going ahead with the proposed Inverness incinerator.
The Highlands has a brilliant opportunity to be among the pioneering UK and European councils developing a local Circular Economy.
Scottish Greens aim to move from a system where resources are dug up, used once or twice and then buried in landfill, to one where materials are constantly reused and repurposed.
This is a priority project for us because of its low cost and high benefit for every aspect of our local economy.
The council’s draft plan is now out for public consultation.
Unless there is strong opposition to councillors’ Energy from Waste plans, including at the forthcoming local elections, incineration will become a prominent feature of the Inverness landscape in the very near future.
Anne Thomas
Scottish Green Party Candidate for the Black Isle
North Kessock
Vote for better mental health provision
The Scottish council elections are just around the corner and we are encouraging everyone in Highland to vote for good mental health for all.
Our mental health is shaped by our environment and experiences. We need strong leadership to build “Wellbeing Communities” that support us to thrive with good mental health. Councillors are in a powerful position to influence the facilities, services and public spaces in our communities that can help determine whether we feel safe, connected and supported.
That’s why we’re asking local council candidates to commit to actions to help deliver good mental health for all. These include making sure every council department considers public mental health when making decisions, providing community groups with funding to provide support, ensuring we all have access to quality green spaces and also that children and young people have access to a variety of sport and leisure activities free of charge. Read more about it at www.mentalhealth.org.uk/wellbeing-communities.
The choices councillors make affect the mental health of you, your family and your community.
Keith Rae
Policy and Public Affairs Officer
Mental Health Foundation
Maintenance of roads is a long waiting game
I hope that the providers of the new road from the A96 to Tornagrain are prepared to build it with long term maintenance in mind.
The roads of the Lochloy estate in Nairn show that they will have to survive at least 22 years before the Highland Council adopts the road and thereafter maintains it.
You can forget persuading the council to get a move on as nothing seems to prompt it to do its job, and also do not expect to get a good reason for the delay as “fobbing off” is its main method of communication with the people it is supposed to work for.
Iain Vernall
Osprey Crescent
Nairn
Online
Join the debate at:
www.inverness-courier.co.uk
Supermarkets clash over expansion
Lidl wants to develop a food store and up to 38 homes on a greenfield site in Sir Walter Scott Drive, Inverness, close to Inshes roundabout. But Asda, which has a supermarket branch nearby, has lodged an objection citing various reasons including the retail impact, stating that Lidl’s original trading philosophy as a “deep discounter” has slowly shifted towards that of a more traditional supermarket.
“So Asda doesn’t like competition. Tesco was the same in the not too distant past in Inverness. Not everyone can afford the overpriced goods at Asda and Tesco. Lidl goods are good quality at good prices. At least they support Scottish farmers and fishermen. Not like Asda.” – Doug Clarke, Elgin
“Hopefully the council approve the application and ignore Asda’s rejection as it’s just one company, I notice the direct supermarket (Tesco) hasn’t rejected it.” – Allan Dubh-Shith
“Should stop building full stop along there, just way too much and way too much traffic in poorly thought out road design that causes dangerous congestion to Raigmore access. From 2pm on a Friday afternoon that whole area is a car park.” – Nick Mcintyre
“It won’t make more traffic, houses might but it will be more choice for consumers.” – Finlayson Matheson Lilian
