We have too many wind farms here

Like many I’m not alone in wondering about the number of wind farms we have in Ayrshire. I’m all for green energy, it’s one of the best ways we have to reach Net Zero - (alongside nuclear), but Ayrshire seems to have taken more than its fair share of wind turbines in recent years. In fact, by the end of 2019 East Ayrshire has 68 “onshore wind installations”, giving it the 8th highest capacity of any council area in the UK and accounting for 2.3% of the UK’s entire wind power production. Extensions to these farms are already planned, extensions which could contain some of the tallest windmills in the world. This is on top of the planned incinerator nobody wants in Ochiltree, which will dominate the landscape for miles around and makes a mockery of any claims that green energy is this SNP government’s priority. Now Scottish Ministers seem happy to see yet more windfarms in Ayrshire, this time on the hills surrounding the historic conservation village of Straiton. I’ve written to the Scottish Government to voice the concerns of locals. For example many have raised the large amounts of concrete that will be put into the ground, how this wind farm will join up with the many other windfarms proposed or already built in the area, or how the noise which will disturb this picturesque village, famed for its walking trails leading into the nearby hills where you can sometimes spot golden eagles. On Friday I received a response from Michael Matheson, the SNP minister responsible. In it he says little that put my mind to rest but I did note one line especially:“The Scottish Ministers always aim to strike a balance between maximising Scotland’s renewable energy potential and protecting communities, landscapes and natural heritage.” Given that Ayrshire is already a powerhouse of wind power, we can only hope that Mr Matheson will remember the second part of his own sentence. Some of you may have read Siobhan Brown’s column about the sad cases of flooded burial lairs in Ayr. While I’m pleased to see the SNP taking action on this issue, which I know has affected many people, there were a few things about her column that struck me as strange. Even with her colleagues in power, her own seat on the council and a seat in Holyrood, Siobhan has still failed to get anything done about this issue in the months it has been rumbling on. What’s more, apparently the burial lairs are somehow the fault of the UK Government (the same UK Government that offered to fund Scottish councils directly as a result of the SNP cuts) and this is a reason why we should have another independence referendum. There’s are only two reasons why the council doesn’t have enough money to care for these lairs properly. One South Ayrshire’s SNP administration are too busy funding vanity projects like the new Citadel centre and two, the SNP in Holyrood are happy to slash council budgets year on year until they can barely keep the lights on.