Sir, – The Perth and Kinross Council staff report on the ultimately successful Binn Eco Park windfarm application stated there were 77 objectors and 66 supporters.
This showed that the vast majority did not object. These are far less likely to go to the trouble of submitting a comment than the others.
The report stated that the principle of renewable energy generation in the area is “acceptable” but that this proposal was not because it would have a significant adverse impact on landscape and “visual amenity “.
Clearly the great majority did not agree or they would have objected.
While the community benefits of the project are supportable by hard evidence (facts and figures) the officer’s comments were not but only subjective opinions.
It was not said for whom the proposal was “unacceptable” . Supposedly it meant the author of the report.
As a planner I find it wholly acceptable and do not think the effects will be “significant”.
They would assuredly be far less so than those of the new main road which Perth and Kinross Council wants to build through several miles of open countryside.
Not only will it have a huge visual impact but it will also be very noisy.
Obviously, Perth and Kinross Council thinks these problems will be outweighed by economic benefits.
Just why the priority was different in this case should be explained.
The law is that there is a presumption in favour of “sustainable development”, meaning that the onus is on councils to prove, not just assert that a proposal would be in conflict with this.
That was not done in the report.
These assertions could be reasonably made about anywhere, not least the Forth Bridge which is far bigger and more visible than this project.
Yet it is now a world heritage site.
It is likely that had planning consent been needed when it was proposed, there would have been countless objections on similar grounds.
Personally I think the proposed museum in Dundee is hideous but don’t have the arrogance to think that means it should not be built.
We do not need politicians and public servants acting as “visual censors” ruling on what we are allowed to see .
Euan Bremner. 215 Perth Road, Dundee.
Cash limits in force in Perth
Sir, – I could be excused for thinking I was in a Greek bank on Saturday morning, but instead was in a building society on Perth’s High Street.
Imagine my surprise, when asking for a £1,200 withdrawal, I was informed that the manager had imposed a limit of £500.
The reason for this, I was told, was that too many people had withdrawn money over the past week and, therefore, a limit had to be applied.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, is it not the case that people are allowed to withdraw as well as deposit money and that the whole purpose of either a bank or building society is to ensure that their account holders have at least the basic services that they have been promised
Not according to the branch manager.
Is it not the case that a branch manager should be monitoring the incomings and outgoings of cash and order more when required? Again, not according to the branch manager.
I find it absolutely incredible that an organisation of this size treats its members in this way.
It is probably the worst customer experience, I have ever been subjected to, given that the money in the account belongs to me and not to them.
As I left I was promised a call on Monday from their head office. Alas the poor customer service prevails.
Perhaps it is about time that I review my banking options. The National Bank of Greece perhaps?
Brian A Falconer. 30 Market Court, Perth.
We caused no terror in office
Sir, – When I saw your headline on Saturday, Masked gang take over Dundee office, I didn’t even recognise it as describing the action that I took part in.
There was no masked gang and no storming of the Triage office.
Nine of us simply walked up the stairs and went in, where one donned an anonymous mask as she has been through the system and did not want to be recognised.
We didn’t use the loud hailer and, while the staff were certainly surprised, they didn’t appear terrified.
All we were doing was a bit of chanting and handing out of leaflets. There is terror in this story but it was not being meted out by us.
It comes from the government work programme, which has been described by the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations as exploitative and punitive, and the private company that is administering it.
Triage recommend people for benefit sanctions to the DWP and are responsible for many sanctions in Dundee.
Fear of being sanctioned and left in destitution, that is terror.
Sarah Glynn. Scottish Unemployed Workers’ Network, 5B Castle Terrace, Broughty Ferry.
Roots of Alyth flooding
Sir, – Thank you for your excellent coverage of the Alyth floods.
I have been out and about in the streets of Alyth this morning and the community is pulling together magnificently as you would expect.
However, two pieces of unnecessary bureaucracy have contributed to this sad devastation.
One is the insistence of Scottish Natural Heritage that all trees and branches that come down in the Den of Alyth should be left alone.
As a walker in the Den I have noticed the extent to which fallen trees were beginning to impede the Alyth Burn.
This produced both a damming effect, thereby increasing the power of the flash flood, and also ensured that trees and branches came powering down the burn causing tremendous damage.
I am myself an environmental historian but the fact is that foolish environmentalism is as bad as no environmentalism at all.
The second problem was that only a few months ago wire mesh was placed on all the footbridges across the burn, presumably for some misguided health and safety reason.
The effect of this was to create resistance which helped to bring all the bridges down.
It really is essential that officials who make such decisions recognise that they might have unintended consequences that can be disastrous.
John M. MacKenzie. Old Bank House, Bank Street, Alyth.
Salmond in unholy alliance
Sir, – The SNP has reached its current level of support by cultivating an image as a left-of-centre social democratic party.
Surely that is blown sky high by Alex Salmond’s gloating article (July 20) about the BBC losing television rights for The Open Golf championship?
Here we have the former leader of the SNP exulting in the transfer of this sporting occasion from a public free-to-view channel to a subscription-only station owned by the right-wing Murdoch empire.
Of course, this support may be payback for the Murdoch-owned Scottish Sun’s support for the SNP in the UK General Election.
But it is a worrying prospect that the BBC, still the best broadcaster in the world, is under threat from an unholy alliance of right-wing Conservatives and Scottish nationalists.
The former want to leave the field free for commercial broadcasters, the latter hate the BBC because it is a UK-wide organisation which they cannot control.
Those of us who fall into neither of these categories must make clear our support for a public free-to-view broadcaster continuing to provide a huge variety of creative output.
Robert Cairns. Eastergate Cottage, Harrietfield, Perth.
Pilot exchange is normal
Sir, – Another manufactured row by anti-Tory MPs.
Our RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots have served on exchange postings with US and other air forces for decades and it is reciprocal.
Their pilots do a tour with us and come under our command, just as our pilots do with them.
It is valuable experience for everyone concerned.
We would expect them to fully co-operate in any British missions.
That is what our pilots are doing.
MPs did not need to be informed specifically. Any MP worth his/her salt with an interest in defence could and should have been aware.
I served with US and Commonwealth pilots on four of the squadrons with which I flew and all were men of exceptional calibre, as were the men we sent in exchange.
John Dorward. 89 Brechin Road, Arbroath.
SNP ignore real problems
Sir, – Nicola Sturgeon is a canny political operator, so why has she set herself up as the patron saint of lost causes?
Her demands to implement the financial suicide that is full fiscal autonomy were decisively rejected by the UK government.
Ms Sturgeon’s supposed victories over David Cameron are short-term. In the autumn, the Tories will stop Scottish MPs voting on England-only matters and amendments to English fox hunting laws will bring England in line with Scotland.
A few days ago, Ms Sturgeon revived attempts to bring the BBC under Holyrood control.
Those fearing parochial programming and state intervention can be confident Westminster will rebuff her demands.
The reason Ms Sturgeon picks pointless fights with Westminster is, however, clear.
The SNP’s PR machine has spent years sowing seeds of discontent. With more than 100,000 party members to keep outraged, it is imperative Ms Sturgeon persists in her anti-UK, anti-Tory rhetoric.
This distracts Ms Sturgeon’s party from taking action on Scotland’s problems.
Our NHS accident and emergency targets continue to be missed. In our schools, numeracy and literacy rates are declining.
Instead of game-playing in London, we need Ms Sturgeon to focus on real issues affecting the lives of Scots.
Martin Redfern. 4 Royal Circus, Edinburgh.