A rather inevitable story in the Telegraph at the weekend which shows the wind industry adopting fairtrade tactics in using children to urge their parents to pressure the local council to give the ok to wind farm development.
The story begins ...
Primary pupils in North Ayrshire were handed plans, seemingly written by a developer, encouraging their parents to back a planning application for an extension to a wind farm in the area. The letter contained a section for parents’ signatures at the bottom and was addressed to the local council’s planning department.
Oddly, all this seems to have had the blessing of the Council:
Critics yesterday expressed their anger at both the developer and SNP-run North Ayrshire council for allowing wind farm “propaganda” in the classroom but the local authority claimed the letters were “directly relevant” to the pupils’ school work.
The letter in question says ...
“I am writing to support the planning application made by Community Windpower Ltd to construct the Millour Hill (wind farm) extension. I believe we should explore all forms of renewable energy in order to avoid the threat climate change poses. The wind farm will generate clean, green electricity, which will contribute to the Government’s renewable energy targets. As a supporter of renewable energy, I fully support the planning application and hope North Ayrshire Council will too.”
And the Council itself is reported as saying ...
Pupils at the Dalry schools have been involved with projects related closely to the environment and sustainable energy and the distributed information was directly relevant to their school work. Neither of the schools are in any way endorsing the plans and are simply distributing information to the community.”
Umm!
I wonder if there's an embryonic Martha Payne in Dalry ...
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