A fair price

How much of our natural beauty are

HOW much is Scotland’s beauty worth?

Is it worth wider mobile phone coverage for rural areas? Forests of wind turbines providing green energy? New roads giving better access to remote communities?

Saying yes to any of these projects inevitably means sacrificing an area of natural landscape.

The question is – is that a price we are willing to pay for progress?

In recent weeks The Sunday Post has looked at the issue of developments that affect Scotland’s landscape, from controversial Scottish Government proposals on mobile phone masts to the rapid expansion of wind farms.

Add to that the electricity pylons and roads that continue to pop up in the countryside and it’s no wonder critics have raised concerns that Scotland’s most picturesque, tranquil and beautiful spots are being irreversibly marred by eyesores, all in the name of progress.

Today, The Sunday Post examines exactly what’s at stake and allow experts on both sides of the divide to put forward their points of view.

Residents and businesses in these communities are very dependent on tourism and share our concerns about t the impact of poorly-planned industrialal developments.

Their fears are about the degradationn of our natural landscapes.

In a recent Mountaineering Scotland survey of members, 67% stated they preferred not to see wind farms when in the mountains.

Also, 22% said they avoided areas with wind farms when planning their activities.

Public money should be directed away from industrial developments towards genuinely community-scale projects.

More support should be given to research and development into more advanced renewable technologies, such ch as tidal energy.

Scots are very proud of our natural landscapes – let’s value them.