Report offers ‘blueprint for commodification and destruction of the Highlands’
A REPORT pointing to £100bn worth of investment potential that it’s claimed could create thousands of jobs has been slammed “a blueprint for the commodification and destruction of the Highlands”.
The report issued today says the Highlands and islands stand on the brink of “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” with hundreds of development projects worth up to £100bn capable of creating 18,000 jobs within 15 years.
Launched at the Convention of the Highlands & Islands in Strathpeffer and endorsed by figures including Highland Council leader Raymond Bremner and local MSP and deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, it also urges “a prompt response” from the wide range of organisations and partners “who can and must play a role” to ensure benefits are maximised and not lost to other areas eyeing a similar prize.
READ MORE
£100bn investments could create 18,000 jobs in Highlands and islands in 15 years - claim
Port of Cromarty Firth awards £1.5m contract for quay expansion
Critics though have slammed the report by that was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in partnership with the Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership, and carried out by research firm ekosgen.
It concentrates on what it sees as financial opportunities from renewables and energy infrastructure - a massive issue in the region at the moment.
A statement released by Better Cable Route (Strathpeffer & Contin) and Communities B4 Power Companies however strongly takes issue with the report.
“This report is not a roadmap for progress - it is a blueprint for the commodification and destruction of the Highlands under the banner of ‘green growth’,” said Caithness resident Andy Hayton.
“We demand transparency, meaningful consultation, and environmental safeguarding; not PR-driven declarations of ‘once in a generation opportunities’ that serve the few at the expense of the many.”
Conspicuously lacking in the discussion, say community groups, are the impacts from the unprecedented wave of industrial development now facing the region on the natural heritage, landscape, culture, visitor economy and communities of the Highlands and Islands.
The convention was dubbed “a talking shop between unaccountable quangos, politicians who parrot industry publicity, and multinational energy companies with their eyes on vast profits smacks of deals being made at the expense of residents” by Dan Bailey of campaign group Better Cable Route (Strathpeffer & Contin).
“You cannot have a fair and green economy without involving in decision-making the people at the sharp end of the energy transition – the people who have to live with all this development. We will bear the negative impact of a seemingly endless wave of new power lines, substations, storage facilities and wind farms, yet see precious little benefit. Local communities are consistently sidelined by the industry and our elected representatives alike. This has to change.”
Campaigners say the Regional Transformational Opportunities in the Highlands and Islands report fails in several critical areas:
• No meaningful community voice: “Nowhere in this report is there recognition of the lived realities, fears, or wishes of the people who actually inhabit these areas. There is no evidence of public consultation, democratic engagement, or consent - just top down decisions by unelected regional partnerships like HIREP and quangos like HIE.”
• Environmental and cultural impact ignored: “The report treats the Highlands and Islands as an industrial resource zone, not a living landscape. There is no serious evaluation of the environmental degradation, land loss, or visual and cultural destruction from large scale energy projects. Iconic sites, historic landscapes, and tourism dependent areas are all placed at risk.”
• Greenwashing for corporate gain: “The narrative of a £100 billion opportunity is a marketing fantasy that masks the reality: giant corporations stand to benefit, not communities. There is little assurance that profits will remain local or that jobs created will be long term or community sustaining. The Highlands risk becoming an energy colony, not a net beneficiary.”
• Over-reliance on unproven projections: “The figures in this report are speculative and based on uncertain market conditions and policy support. Selling off Highland land and identity for hypothetical billions is reckless governance, especially without binding protections or guarantees.”
• Council leadership is failing its duty: “Councillor Raymond Bremner, as leader of Highland Council and chair of HIREP, is failing in his duty to protect communities from overdevelopment and environmental harm. Rather than listening to residents or defending the integrity of our rural and coastal places, he is acting as a salesman for unchecked industrialisation. He is not representing Highland interests, he is facilitating their exploitation for corporate gain.
“Once again the communities on the front line of this industrialisation have been ignored. Their hopes and dreams shattered by the steamrollering of Big Energy, aided and abetted by our government and local authority,” said Lyndsey Ward of Communities B4 Power Companies.
“There is nothing fair or just about this so called ‘green’ transition and money cannot replace what will be lost. We are being sold out to the global investment companies and their shareholders.
“Kate Forbes repeatedly fails to speak up for the people she represents and has been a massive disappointment to Highland communities over this issue. Raymond Bremner as a North Planning Application Committee member should seriously consider his position and ask himself if he can be truly impartial when determining planning applications connected to the industry he continues to unreservedly support.”
You can read what both Kate Forbes MSP, Raymond Bremner and Stuart Black of Highlands and Islands Enterprise said of the report here.
Before you go…
I'd like to share a code that gives you the first year of a Digital+ subscription for a bargain price of just £20. Available to new subscribers, benefits include unlimited access to articles on all HNM websites, the ad-free HNM App, the opportunity to read every e-edition plus past paper catalogue going back over a year, access to all titles at HNM and exclusive subscriber events. Head to ‘Subscribe’ and use the promo code HECTORMACKENZIE
