Let the Scottish Government be the Baddie

Although Calton now lives in Edinburgh he grew up on the west coast of Scotland and still has relatives in the Highlands, some of whom earn their livings through tourism. So he has a dog in the fight when it comes to Covid-19 and its effect on the Highlands and Islands. He understands the concern of those who live there when faced with an influx of sasunnachs wanting to escape the virus. Unfortunately the way that concern has been expressed runs the risk of doing long-term damage to the industry which many in the Highlands depend on. Hand-made posters saying "tourists go home" will not be forgotten once this pandemic is over and neither will flat motorhome tyres. Visitors were not buying up all the food in the shops - the locals were managing to do that for themselves quite nicely well before Easter and the traditional influx of tourists (which the shops are geared up to cater for). Fears that sick visitors would swamp local health services were legitimate but, here's the thing, this should have been addressed by the Scottish Government, that SNP Government voted in by a majority of the Highlands, and not left to individuals or communities to deal with themselves.

The Scottish Government closed the schools on Friday 20th March, the forecast for that weekend was superb and yet those in power didn't seem to realise that a considerable number of people might, quite literally, head for the hills (or at least the carpark at Nevis Range). It wasn't until Sunday 22nd that the Government announced a ban on non-essential travel, including travel to second homes, and even then, their Chief Medical Officer thought that the advice was optional. That left vulnerable rural communities across Scotland unprotected for two whole days. It's not surprising that some of them decided to take the law into their own hands but it was extremely unfortunate and unwise.

Now that the travel ban is in place and is being enforced by Police Scotland, Calton would like to see all the unwelcoming signs taken down. Let the Scottish Government and the Police be the baddies, not local people. That's the smarter way to handle this. Covid-19 is decimating the tourist industry right now but it won't last long. A bad reputation will last a lot longer and the effect on the Highlands will be much deeper.

Crackdown still leaves silent killers

Calton welcomes the new crackdown on killing of birds of prey, although raptor persecution has been illegal for quite some time now and that has not stopped it happening. At least the new measures announced by Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse indicate that the Scottish Government means business on this. That, or they have realised that the public don't like hearing about yet another poisoned eagle, buzzard or red kite. Calton wonders when the penny will drop that the public also don't like hearing about birds being killed by wind turbines. Eradicating poisoning, trapping and shooting of raptors will still leave silent killers dotting our hillsides, just waiting to clatter an unwary bird on the back of the head. The SNP's slavish adherence to ridiculous renewables targets is not only impoverishing the Scottish population, it is also trashing the countryside, killing wildlife and ruining our tourist industry. And it's not only wind turbines which threaten the countryside and wildlife - a proposed tidal scheme for Kylerhea will make a mockery of the scenes we have all recently been watching on the BBC Hebrides programme. Four towers sticking up out of the water just north of the ferry route have the potential to scare off the seals, and, with no seals to force the fish to the surface on the flow tide, the seagulls will not fish, and if the seagulls don't fish, the sea eagle will not be there to steal their fish and delight the tourists. Plus, it's just an accident waiting to happen with a combination of strong tides, amateur yachtsmen and four large obstacles in the water. It will spoil a beautiful, scenic spot and how many local jobs will it provide? Precious few, Calton suspects.

Teth aile nan Eilean Siar

Calton finds it really hard to believe the unnamed Scottish Government spokesperson who said, apropos the proposed Western Isles interconnector, that "Improved grid connections will enable the huge renewable energy resources of Scotland's islands to create jobs - up to 3,500 jobs in the Western Isles, almost 2,900 in the Shetlands and over 4,500 in the Orkney Islands by 2030." In the construction phase maybe but permanently? When, as Calton has already pointed out, a seven turbine windfarm can be managed by just two part-time technicians? If you do the maths, that means that there would need to be about 25,000 turbines on the Western Isles to give that level of full-time employment. That's 21 turbines per square mile and 8% of the total Western Isles population working on them. Well, they'll probably need to be right enough, because their tourism industry will have suffered the same fate as the White-throated Needletail and there will be no birdlife left anywhere on the islands - just a lot of sad little corpses littered around the bases of the turbines. Just as well the BBC filmed 'Hebrides' when they did. Or maybe the unnamed spokesperson is talking a lot of hot air?

A close escape

Calton is just glad he didn't decide to go to Harris for his holidays. Otherwise it might have been him lying on the ground under a community wind turbine. Having said that, Calton is generally in favour of small, local wind turbines and it is just really unfortunate that a rare visitor to our shores fell foul of one. What a majority of the visitors to our shores do not want to see is large scale industrialisation of our countryside with large windfarms, if the opinions of Scots are anything to go by.  It is encouraging to see that most Scots support the idea of protecting our wild land. Calton just wishes that more land would be designated as wild. Wildlife tourism is becoming increasingly important to the Scottish economy, helped by TV programmes like Hebrides, and it is about time the Scottish Government recognised this. How many more birdwatchers would have visited Harris if the poor White-throated Needletail had not come to an untimely end?

Some things are irreplaceable

Does anyone seriously believe the Scottish Government when it says that “We are committed to protecting wild land in Scotland"? Seriously? When every trip up north which Calton makes reveals yet more turbines dotting our hillsides, not to mention the construction site that is the Beauly-Denny power line? There is almost as much windfarm capacity in the planning pipeline as we have already built and almost four times as much is in the process of being scoped at the moment. If all is approved, we will go from the 4.4GW currently installed to nearly 30GW. How many more turbines will that be? More to the point, where will they be situated? Current proposals drawn up by SNH designate pockets of protected wild land but many truly wild areas have been left out and windfarms will be visible from many of the protected areas because the pockets are so small in size. It is a patchwork approach designed to satisfy the SNP's energy policy, not protect Scotland's scenery and related tourism industry. It's time the Scottish Government called a halt to large-scale windfarm development in Scotland's wild areas and looked instead at unobtrusive schemes such as the underground hydro generator at Inverlael near Ullapool. Because if we trash our countryside, we won't get it back.

Not so expert independence experts

Nicola Sturgeon has rolled out Hollywood film producer Iain Smith, award-winning chef Roy Brett and events expert Prof Joe Goldblatt to back her argument that Scotland would be better off independent. Unfortunately, Brett seems to be confused between Westminster, which is in charge of VAT, and the EU, which determines our fishing policy. Under the SNP's plans, an independent Scotland would only be able to control the former - the fishing policy would still be out of our hands. Maybe he should stick to cooking. Calton also has his doubts about Goldblatt, who thinks that an independent Scotland would "become one of the most successful tourism destinations in the world". Not once the SNP have covered it with windfarms it won't. It will also not be so attractive to film companies for location shoots once the landscape has been industrialised on a grand scale (unless the next Bond film has a helicopter chase though a windfarm as its opener). Scotland does have a lot of assets and a lot of great businesses. We are being hampered by Westminster's restrictive immigration policies, brought in because they have no control over immigration from within the EU. The answer is not "independence within Europe" but for the Scottish Government to work with Westminster to help businesses by reducing red tape (much of it from the EU), and to agree an immigration policy which takes account of Scotland's needs. Unfortunately there is not much sign of that happening between now and next September.

Heading for the buffers

John 'The Signalman' Swinney is just itching to get his hands on the economic levers he thinks independence will give him. Trouble is, there's only going to be one lever - oil - and a pretty dodgy one at that. Calton wouldn't like to depend on it to stop the Flying Scotsman heading down the wrong track towards the buffers. Scotland is a one-commodity economy (or will be when Alex Salmond has trashed tourism with all his windfarms) with a high level of public spending. Can the SNP not recognise an imminent train crash when they see one?

Totally depressing

It's bad enough to have to come back to the city after a wonderful week in the West Highlands without being depressed further by Alex Salmond's announcement today of yet another stupid renewables target. Murdo Fraser is quite right when he points out that the SNP's target is "completely underpinned by wind power. Not only is that an unreliable and intermittent source, but it's led to turbines blighting communities across the whole country." As yet, you can still get wonderful views from the mountains on the west coast without turbines blotting the landscape but for how long? The amount of truly wild land in Scotland is rapidly shrinking and, with it, the attraction for tourists. We are cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Bring back real bank managers

The new scheme to boost bank lending to businesses is to be welcomed, particularly given that the number of hotels and B&Bs for sale in Scotland is at a high due to the difficulty buyers are finding in getting finance. No-one, Calton least of all, wants to see a return to the days when banks threw money at borrowers regardless of whether or not they could repay the loans, however we are now in a situation where older hotel owners looking to sell up and retire are unable to do so because they can't find a buyer. And these are viable businesses, not turkeys. The popularity of staycations has boosted the Scottish tourism industry and figures released by accountancy firm PKF this week suggest a rise in occupancy and revenues for Scottish hotels in May. What we really need is a return to the days where you sat down and discussed a loan with a bank manager who knew you and knew the business you were looking to buy, not some faceless number-cruncher on the end of an 0845 phone line (if you're lucky).

The youngsters have landed

Some of Calton's young cousins from Norway are flying into Fife to help boost the Kingdom's tourist industry. Sea Eagles have brought £5 million to the economy of Mull and it is hoped that they will do the same in Fife, which could do with a boost after the collapse of first the mining industry and then the electronics industry. The youngsters will be let loose in August so anyone wanting to catch a glimpse of a rare bird should head over to Dunfermline then and camp out in ASDA car park, which is where one of the last lot of eaglets decided to hang out for a while, perching on a spotlight. He was presumably looking for something to get his beak into - pity Willie Rennie didn't happen along at the time.

Shedding the carbuncle

Greetings from the most northerly carbuncle on the Scottish mainland where Calton is currently on his holidays. He is able to bring you this blog update courtesy of wifi at Flavours ice cream shop, John O' Groats, which just shows that the spirit of enterprise is not dead up here. Quite the reverse, with the construction of a number of holiday chalets proceeding apace and scaffolding up around the old octagonal hotel. OK so John O' Groats will still not win any architectural awards but who needs nice buildings when you have a fantastic view of Orkney on your doorstep? (Of course Calton may be slightly biased since his Grandmother hailed from this part of the world.) Sadly, in spite of 150,000 visitors per year, it is still almost impossible for businesses to get a loan to start up in John O' Groats and so much of the promised regeneration has yet to happen, which is a pity. Hopefully the new developments will change that.

A lot of hot air from Scottish Renewables

Calton would just like to know on what basis Scottish Renewables is asserting that people in Scotland are not opposed to wind power and that it has no negative impact on tourism. Have they done surveys of both Scottish people and tourists to canvas their views? Or is this just anecdotal evidence? Where are the figures to back up their assertions? Calton knows quite a few people who are opposed to windfarms, some of whom are sufficiently unhappy that they are actively lobbying against them. Do they not count? Naturally Scottish Renewables is going to be pro-windpower since it is the industry body, however, if they want to be convincing, they are going to have to do better than just quote a few unsubstantiated facts. Calton would also like to know if this industry body is receiving any government funding, given the SNP's well-known bias towards windfarms. If they are, Trump's £10 million is simply levelling the playing field.

Tourism - for the birds?

Calton is not convinced that windfarms are not major bird mincers, and neither is the goose that lays the golden eggs. Put it this way, although a recent survey shows that numbers of skylarks increase when a windfarm is built, they are majorly bad news for large raptors like sea eagles and so Calton will continue to give them a wide berth. They also cause a decline in the numbers of already threatened curlew and anyone who has heard the haunting call of this magical bird on a summer's evening will know that its loss would be a real tragedy. It is one of the many reasons why people visit Scotland - visitor numbers for 2011 were up on the previous year - and so we should not sacrifice it for the sake of a flawed energy strategy. According to the Scottish Tourism Forum, Scottish tourism is worth £4.2bn every year and employs about 215,000 people. Not peanuts. The SNP are nuts if they endanger this in their short-sighted drive to populate Scotland with windfarms.

Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs

According to Radio Scotland's Business Scotland programme yesterday, the tourist industry provides 175,000 jobs in Scotland whereas the renewable energy sector only provides 11,000. Even if 100% of our energy were to come from renewable sources, the number of jobs involved would only be about 33,000, since, at the moment, renewables provides around one-third of our energy needs. Calton is admittedly employing some very simple arithmetic here but you can see the drift. Given that the self-same radio programme also stated that Scotland is becoming increasingly reliant on the tourism sector, does it make sense to put 175,000 jobs at risk for the sake of 33,000 jobs, ie less than a fifth of that number, by spoiling our beautiful sea and landscapes with wind turbines? Tourism is one of the few growth industries we have at the moment however it seems that the SNP are quite happy to see the goose that lays the golden eggs decapitated by a windmill blade. It will be interesting to see if this view is shared by the electorate in the forthcoming local council elections.

Cash for tidal power at a low ebb

The tourist industry in Scotland accounts for 10% of our GDP and employs over 200,000 people. Why then is Alex Salmond determined to jeopardise this vital industry by covering the coastline and countryside with windfarms? Does this make sense? Calton thinks not. Investment in renewable energy would be better spent in the wave and tidal sector which is struggling at the moment for lack of cash up front to allow development to continue. At a time when fuel poverty is increasing rapidly it is also criminal to be adding to household fuel bills in order to line the pockets of windfarm landowners. If the Scottish and Westminster Governments are serious about helping the hard-up (and industry) they should start by cutting windfarm subsidies and lowering electricity bills.

Something fishy off the coast of Fife

As if Scotland's fishermen didn't already have enough problems to contend with, their livelihood is now also being threatened by windfarm developments. Instead of learning from the plight of fishermen in Holderness, Yorkshire, the Scottish Government is going ahead with plans which will directly impact fishing off the East Neuk of Fife. This, in turn, will affect an area which has already suffered the decline and death of the mining industry. It may also have a negative effect on the tourist industry in East Fife. Are the East Neuk villages going to be quite as quaint and attractive with huge turbines just offshore? It would be a different matter if the windfarms were going to provide local jobs. Instead, the subsidies paid for by an extra premium on our fuel bills will go to line the pockets of foreign companies. The Dutch have realised this and cut subsidies to windfarms. Time for the SNP to do the same.

The cost of Highland life

Further to his post on the cost of island life, Calton is pleased to see today that the OFT has decided to look into the higher costs of rural living, including the islands. He has long been of the view that the Highlands and Islands should not be just a playground for young professionals from the central belt, nor should they be primarily a retirement home for rich pensioners from the south of England. Surely it is not beyond the ability of the Scottish Government to put in place the infrastructure needed to attract and keep industry in the Highlands and Islands without ruining the landscape and damaging the existing tourist industry. Without such infrastructure, there is a real possibility that we will see another Highland Clearances in ten years' time and the only things moving in the empty glens this time will be the wind turbines!

View from the heights

Calton has decided to have a break from politics for a couple of days and so has flown up to Glencoe for a Burns Supper with some fellow mountain-lovers. From his vantage point above the Devil's Staircase this afternoon he could see for miles around and not a wind farm in sight, which is increasingly unusual in the Highlands these days. His keen eye spotted the ski tows on Meall a' Bhuiridh and the reservoir which used to supply the aluminium smelter at Kinlochleven but both of those have blended into the landscape over the years, something which large wind turbines are unlikely ever to do, and both the ski development, and the smelter in its heyday, provided more local jobs than windfarms do. What the Highlands needs is sustainable, long-term employment, not blots on the landscape which require very little maintenance once installed (unless they blow up in a gale)!

Not in my back yard, thankyou!

It was announced today that approval has been given for a new 59 turbine windfarm in Moray and an extension to one in Lewis. Just over a month ago a 33 turbine windfarm in Sutherland was similarly given the go-ahead. Calton has always been rather doubtful of the wisdom of spoiling our beautiful countryside with large-scale windfarm developments and, after seeing the photos of the turbine which caught fire in the last big storm, has definitely, and unapologetically, become a windfarm NIMBY, because there's no way he wants burning debris landing on his eyrie!

Much is being made in today's announcements about the number of jobs which will be created, however most of these jobs will only be temporary construction jobs and it is unclear at present what the impact of the increasing number of windfarms will be on our tourist industry, which is one of the main employers in rural Scotland. The few permanent jobs provided by windfarms could easily be outnumbered by the jobs consequently lost in the tourist sector. Instead of building more and more windfarms to power homes, Calton thinks that investment should be directed towards making homes more energy-efficient and developing more reliable (and less incendiary) energy-generating methods.