A Scottish Government body that has the final say on renewable energy projects has come under fire for “blocking” objections after axing the option to oppose plans via email.
Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett has written to SNP energy secretary Gillian Martin criticising the move, stating that the government is “shutting out” and “banning” communities from expressing their views on giant energy schemes.
The Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) will now no longer accept public objections by email — the most commonly used channel of communication on its website.
Instead, people are now required to only submit representations through the Energy Consents website or by post.
The ECU has also put a limit of 37,000 characters on submissions to their online system, totalling just over 6,000 words.
The Scottish Government says the new online system will “make it easier for members of the public to submit representations on energy applications”.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, said: “Communities who are the victims of this mass industrialisation of our countryside are being blocked and shut out by the Scottish Government.
“The banning of emails and limiting word counts on documents is despicable and is another ploy by the ECU to silence residents who are facing the brunt of these renewable energy projects.
“I will now be pressing the SNP government to reverse this move by giving our communities the full democratic right of lodging objections on issues which are having a drastic impact on their livelihoods.”
In his letter to Gillian Martin, Mr Burnett said: “At a time when communities across rural Scotland are facing an unprecedented scale of energy infrastructure development, public scrutiny and democratic participation should be strengthened, not deliberately restricted.
“Email is the most accessible and commonly used way for people to engage with the planning and consent processes, as you would know if you met the communities impacted by the energy infrastructure projects proposed across rural Scotland.
“This decision will inevitably reduce public participation and for many will confirm their suspicions that you more interested in suppressing and ignoring opposition to the industrialisation of rural Scotland, rather than in listening to the legitimate concerns of communities most affected by these developments.
“That is unacceptable and fundamentally undermines trust in the fairness and transparency of the Energy Consents Unit and the planning system.”
