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Get writing.
Below are examples of the kinds of letters you need to write, as fast as possible, before the planning deadlines expire. You can say as much or as little as you wish. Feel free to make your own points over and above those included in these examples.
| Sample Letters of Objection in MSWord format. Right-click to download. | |
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Letter of Objection 1 (32Kb .doc) |
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Letter of Objection 2 (40Kb .doc) |
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Letter of Objection 3 (36Kb .doc) |
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Letter of Objection 4 (32Kb .doc) |
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Letter of Objection 5 (32Kb .doc) |
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Letter of Objection 6 (32Kb .doc) |
NB Please sign your name, then print your name AND clearly state your home address so that the authorities can count your objection as a ‘valid’ objection.
We have also provided a list of people you should write to. Remember, every email and letter counts, so definitely get other members of your family and your friends to write their own individual letters and emails if they share your worries about the destruction of the Lammermuirs. Every single letter will have a direct impact. Please do NOT leave it to your neighbours to write these letters - we all know what happens when campaigns rely upon ‘others’ to do the work… they fail.
The Aikengall II - Wester Dod planning application for 30 MORE turbines.
The Aikengall II - Wester Dod application is for a massive 30 turbine field. If approved, these would be in addition to the 16 turbines already scarring the Aikengall hillside since earlier this year. The land on which the wind farm is proposed is right on the boundary of both Scottish Borders and East Lothian. In fact it literally covers both sides of the fence.
Amazingly, the proposed development at Wester Dod would be located within an Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV). These areas of special landscape character are specifically designated by Local Authorities in order to provide protection against inappropriate forms of development. So it would be even more unacceptable if this planning application were to be approved.
Under ‘normal’ circumstances therefore, because the land in question straddles the boundary of both Local Authority districts, both Scottish Borders Council and East Lothian Council would have to decide on the application. However, the proposed wind farm is so big that it purports to generate 50MW of power, and as such it is over the threshold of application that can be approved at Local Authority level (Scottish Borders Council and East Lothian Council) so instead the decision gets made centrally by the Scottish Government’s planners. However, the process by which the Scottish Government officially assesses a proposal as large as this is that various bodies (including both Scottish Borders Council and East Lothian Council in this instance) first act as Statutory Consultees in assessing the proposal under their own independent means, and they then give a recommendation ‘for’ or ‘against’ the proposal to the Scottish Government. If they recommend ‘for’ the proposal, this will not materially change the process but almost certainly influences the final outcome - the Scottish Government is most unlikely to turn down a proposal if the Local Authority in question (in this case two Local Authorities) are in favour. BUT if either or both of the Local Authorities recommends ‘against’ the planning application during their initial consultation period, then this forces a de facto (automatic) PUBLIC ENQUIRY to be held.
This is the crucial first objective therefore for everyone who opposes the Aikengall II - Wester Dod planning application… to make sure that the East Lothian Council and Scottish Borders Council planning officers are fully aware of the extent of local outrage at these proposals.
1. FIRSTLY object direct to the Scottish Government
First and foremost you must register your formal objection to the Aikengall II - Wester Dod planning application to the Scottish Government. The very tight timing deadlines require all objectors to get their objections into the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit at the very latest by 21 December 2009, which is technically when the consultation period ends for public objections.
Send your objection direct by email online right now by emailing a letter or message to the Energy Consents Unit at energyconsents@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
The Planning Officer who is dealing with this application at the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit is Marian Deeney. She should also be copied at marian.deeney@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. See Marian Deeney’s full contact details on this website at Your Scottish Government contacts.
You can see many valid reasons for objecting set out earlier in this website Why we oppose more wind farms in the Lammermuirs and also in the pro-forma letters of objection we have also attached.
The main file at East Lothian Council for this planning application, including the Design and Access Statement, the Non-Technical Summary and the Environmental Statements lodged by the developer, can be found at: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1075 (You need to scroll down a tiny bit on this link, to find the right place).
2. SECONDLY copy your objections to the 2 key Local Authorities
Secondly, you should state your strong objection to the scheme to the 2 key people at East Lothian Council and at Scottish Borders Council who are the decision makers as to their respective Councils’ recommendation to the Scottish Government ‘for’ or ‘against’ the application.
The two key people at East Lothian Council and at Scottish Borders Council are:
Jean Squires
Planning Case Officer
East Lothian Council
John Muir House
Haddington
EH41 3LH
Email: jsquires@eastlothian.gov.uk
See full contact details on this website at Your Local Authority Council contacts; and:
John Hiscox
Planning Case Officer
Scottish Borders Council
Council Headquarters
Newtown St. Boswells
Melrose
TD6 0SA
Email: jhiscox@scotborders.gov.uk
See full contact details on this website at Your Local Authority Council contacts.
Anyone can object, and you can make your opposition known to either or both of these Councils. You do not need to live in either Scottish Borders or in East Lothian to object. Nor does living in one of these locations preclude you from formally objecting to either one or the other Local Authorities. Therefore, it’s simple - email or write your formal objection firstly to the Scottish Government (see above), and secondly to both East Lothian Council and to Scottish Borders Council.
The other people who will have influence on the view formed by the 2 Planning Officers at the two Local Authorities are the members of those Local Authorities’ Planning Committees. So, you should also if possible copy your objections to the members of those two Committees. We have given you all the email contact details for each member of these two Local Authority Planning Committees as well - see Your Local Authority Council contacts and copy them your objections.
Please let us know when you have written. You can do this via the Contact Us section of this website. Thank you.
