Lack of government contact with objectors is ‘obscene’

The claim was made by Tracey Smith after a recent Freedom of Information request revealed that the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) has never met with residents affected by pylon or batter storage applications.

By contrast the organisation, which has the final say on renewable energy projects, has met with developers more than 100 times over the last year.

Campaigners also pointed out that the government also admitted it had never met affected residents.

In the FOI response, the Scottish Government said it was “necessary” for the ECU to meet companies for the “process of administering applications for energy consents”.

But officials said they “do not routinely meet campaigners to discuss applications which may ultimately be submitted to and determined by the Scottish Ministers.”

A range of proposals has caused outrage among rural communities over the last year, most notably plans for a new network of 550 electricity pylons across the Highlands and the North East, which have attracted more than 10,000 objections.

Ms Smith, an Aberdeenshire councillor and co-founder of the Save Our Mearns campaign, said: “This revelation is obscene and shows that the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit is nothing more than a body set up to curtail public opinion.

“We have been stitched up to the core by the Scottish Government, whose energy consents unit doesn’t have the decency to meet those affected, yet is all too happy to meet developers which it is working hand-in-hand with.

“This is an unjust energy transition that is causing misery and financial har dship for residents, desecrating our countryside, and contributing to the loss of prime agricultural land.

“That is why communities must be front and centre of any proposals and should have a veto when it comes to new energy infrastructure being built - something the Scottish Conservatives have committed to doing.”