YOUR VIEWS: North Sea exploration and 20-minute neighbourhoods in the Highlands
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‘Essential that we continue North Sea exploration’
Circularity Scotland, which was set up to run the Deposit Return Scheme, has been placed into administration, putting 66 jobs at risk. Lorna Slater’s tears over these 66 jobs pale into insignificance against the Scottish Government’s stance of being against any new exploration for North Sea oil and gas.
This would imperil the future of 200,000 jobs of which 90,000 are in Scotland. With 180 of 283 oil and gas fields due to close by 2030 new licences are essential to maintain jobs and reduce our reliance on imports.
Clark Cross, Springfield Road, Linlithgow
Greens’ ideas on travel are not practical
We are getting used to the disastrous government policies being put forward by the Green party, but their latest proposals are really going into the realms of fantasy.
They are calling for measures to minimise travel.
For instance they want to establish “20 minute neighbourhoods” in all towns and smaller communities, making them “complete, compact and connected” and in which most of all key services are provided within walking or cycling distance of 20 minutes from someone’s home.
This would supposedly include public parks and gardens, cafés, libraries and sports halls as well as schools, shops, doctors and dentists.
Who is to set up those 20 minute neighbourhoods? Businesses are struggling as it is with the cost of living and finding it hard to find staff and there is an overall shortage of doctors and dentists.
Where will the land be for all these parks and gardens and where will the money be coming from to fund this completely impractical pipe dream?
Of course we know the Green party is hell-bent on getting rid of all cars, with no regard for the fact that they are essential to life in the Highlands especially, or the fact that only a minority of people are able to walk or cycle everywhere.
Of course this is really all about control over the people, restricting their lifestyles by stopping their going out and about, taking away their freedoms and putting them more and more under the control of the state.
How long do we have to suffer this pathetic party and its ill thought-out policies?
JM Maclennan, Castle Heather, Inverness
