View Full Version : Traffic Chaos from Thurso to Strathy for 6 months!
Green_not_greed
17-Aug-07, 08:16
I recently noticed on the CWIF website that the Strathy South windfarm expect to take turbine parts and equipment in at Scrabster and transport everything out west, 7 days a week, for 6 months. It says "Transportation of over 600 very slow moving and extremely large heavy loads, weighing up to 130 tonnes, over 24m long and over 4m wide from Scrabster to Baligill, on a daily basis for six months, is likely to cause traffic chaos for over 30km and is completely unacceptable."
I would tend to agree. Anyone in support should visit the Strathy South objections page at www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk (http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk) - don't worry about not meeting the submission date - they are still taking correspondance and it will all count.
Did you see Coast last night? They showed a computer simulation of the proposed farm in the Outer Hebrides. I for one hadn't appreciated just how overwhelming it would be. It would surround a village completely and completely destroy the area. Such sacrilege. It's a pure scandal.
Read in the paper the other day that the Flow Country, which I believe is where Strathy South and Strathy North windfarms are proposed is now designated as a National Nature Reserve. I thought I also read a long time ago somewhere that it was being considered as a World Heritage Site - not sure if that is correct. Surely, they wouldn't allow all these turbines (77 for S. South and 35 for S. North) in this new NNR, would they? If they do its madness.
Nothing would surprise me now. So many of these windfarm locations would seem like madness to any normal person that to put a huge windfarm in the middle of an NNR is just about what one would expect. After all they're also considering a smallish one by the Yarrows archaeological trail - a world famous site supported by Highland Council. Why wouldn't they?
You would think the last part of the Lands End to John o'Groats route would be famous enough to protect it but no, stick a windfarm beside it just to make sure no-one is silly enough to want to look at the views.
Oh and while we're at it, there's the Castle of Mey. Now there's a good place for a big windfarm - after all we don't want tourists coming to look at historic castles do we? Spending all their money up here - perish the thought.
Interesting to note that, despite the original post picking out only one of the potential disbenefits of this scheme, there has been little reaction from the org.
In my opinion the proposed proliferation of this type of industrial development, in areas such as Caithness and Sutherland, should be creating more reaction than, for example, the current concern with having 1800 or 3600 sq mtrs of retail space.
The latter is currnetly the subject of a very expensive drawn out (to the benefit of no one but the expensive lawyers involved) - were are the public enquiries about the proposed desecration of our unique lansdcapes and environment?
Think the answer to that might be windfarm fatigue. After all it's just one big supermarket in Thurso to add to the one in Wick. If there were as many supermarket applications as there are windfarm maybe people would get tired of talking about them as well.
One day the good folks of Caithness and Sutherland will wake up to the sight of turbines whirling away in every direction and then it will be too late.
psyberyeti
19-Aug-07, 21:46
Surely, if you can see a wind farm from any part of your property, even if that means whilst lying on top of the wardrobe in the attic of your house, using binocculars, then maybe we should get a 10% reduction in our poll tax to make up for it. Then the council will have to extract reccompense from the wind farm owners who probably live well out of site of the blades[disgust]. Lets face it, they are going to make loads of wind money up here.:lol:
Something else I heard recently was that the planning hearing for the proposed Baillie windfarm is scheduled for September. I think if this gets turned down by Highland Councillors it will go to a public inquiry. The trouble is with windfarm applications is that they are by nature to be sited in the countryside were many fewer people live. Towns people don't seem to care to much about this - or am I wrong all you townies? After all its your county's countryside too thats being exploited.
I recently noticed on the CWIF website that the Strathy South windfarm expect to take turbine parts and equipment in at Scrabster and transport everything out west, 7 days a week, for 6 months. It says "Transportation of over 600 very slow moving and extremely large heavy loads, weighing up to 130 tonnes, over 24m long and over 4m wide from Scrabster to Baligill, on a daily basis for six months, is likely to cause traffic chaos for over 30km and is completely unacceptable."
I would tend to agree. Anyone in support should visit the Strathy South objections page at www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk (http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk) - don't worry about not meeting the submission date - they are still taking correspondance and it will all count.
I think the totally unnecessary Strathy/melvich road upgrade could play a big part in that.
The strange thing is that even before Wind Farms had ever been mentioned there was a sudden urge to upgrade long sections of the main road along the north coast in Sutherland.
In view of the fact that, at the time, there was never any money for upgrading sections of the A9 which badly needed it.
I hadn't really given it much thought before but the reason for the upgrades are now very clear.
Something similar happened on the Causewaymire. Long before the Wind Farm there was even hinted at there was a massive amount of work carried out enlarging the Electricity Station there which was very conveniently placed for the link up from the Wind Farm.
Why do I get the feeling that, whatever happens, the number of turbines in each area has already been decided and the only choice anybody will get is if they want them on the left or the right side of their home.
I have little doubt that sufficient excess has been built in to the required total to allow for a small number of objections to be allowed to give the impression that we have some say in the matter.
"Just throw the plebs a few crusts, that should shut them up!"
Ah, you're not at all wrong in your thinking there Jaws... and the reason I say that is because of the way the Councils work......
We asked very vocally for residents parking in our street a little over 2 years ago - I was told by our local councillor (also a friend) to 'keep quiet about this for now, just wait, things are in the pipeline'.... she wouldn't elaborate further, but just a few weeks ago, lo & behold, we have a new pedestrian plan for the main road which runs parallel to our little street.
Since our street is a double cul-de-sac, the council have no option but to make it 'access only' & therefore also Residents parking! Forcing the local businesses to avail themselves of the council-run business parking site which has recently been created........
So, after several businesses were 'moved on' and a new Council-run Enterprise centre was created (complete with business parking sheme), due to open in 2 weeks, we suddenly have money for new road schemes! I have since found out that all this was actually laid out & planned just over 3 years ago - with no public consultation whatsoever!
And it's very much a double edged sword, yes our street will have residents parking, but a few more local businesses will pack up & leave - then again, I'm off to Ireland, so it really shouldn't worry me....
But yeah, I'm just showing you how the cogs turn in the background with little or no regard to how the local residents & businesses feel - But then you knew that already!
Julie
Rheghead: I think the totally unnecessary Strathy/melvich road upgrade could play a big part in that. (must be nice living on a 'normal road', it's usually folk who don't use single-track that complain about upgrades - I wonder why?)
Yes it is windfarm fatique, the normal Joe Blogs does not have a hope in hell of having an effect - powerful business with weak councillors giving them the nod, and it's through, don't give a damn for those personally affected, money talks,. of course it won't make a jot of difference to cost of electricity, the land owner gets a couple of thousand per year for each turbine, the producer gets more for the so-called 'green' energy. basically it's one big con from start to finish. put up a decent size nuclear power station at Dounreay and it will laugh at these piddling turbines. Do what France does; Nuclear. I expect RIGHT NOW the electric you are using (shock horror) is coming over from French nuclear via the Interconnector.. never mind naive Councillors and powerful business will and do get there way - it's sickening..
psyberyeti
20-Aug-07, 23:07
Yup, they ruined a perfectly good, single track road to build a new, shiney, almost straight, two lane highway. That road gave our area some character and was great to whizz through the twisty turney bits on motobikes. Now, when it's finished, it's going to be bland like any other piece of UK road. I hate it and wished that I had had the courage to voice my disapproval by pulling up, or re-siting all of the red markers that they had put in when they originally marked it out.[disgust]
Shame on our council for building this unnecessary piece of road. I presume they are now going to make US pay for it as well in our local taxes.
Annoyed of Bettyhill[disgust]
Who pays for all these road upgrades so the windfarmers can get their turbines to these sites? Look at that flash new junction just the otherside of Golspie - I think that was put in just so they can get the turbines to the Kilbrauer windfarm. Is this our council taxes that are paying for this? I know the council get a good whack back from the windfarmers but if it is our money going in to help these useless, money-making scams I'm disgusted!! And another thing - how much did it cost to 'do' the Highland Renewable Energy Strategy, well over £400,000 of our council taxes and then I read in the P&J the other day that at the Achany/Invercassley windfarm public inquiry the council solicitor saying something about HRES being superceded by national strategy now? What is going on?
psyberyeti "turney bits on motobikes"
Yep must be nice that - seem to remember a few years ago a motorcyclist could not take te 'turney bit' above Armadale, hit the crash barrier and died.. But for the 'locals' (who have lived her for ever) and who have to navigate this last couple of miles from Strathy Brae to the Melvich cattlegrid, it will be a godsend - as visitors coming from the EAst hit the first bit of single-track in their lives and seem to think it's just a 'narrow' road, causing us 'locals' to either reverse 100 yards to the pasing place or go up the bank. It takes six minutes to cover this section, it will be nice (although no 'turney bits') to cover it, like the most of uk in a jiffy and make it over to Wick - bypassing Thurso - just that bit sooner.
I think 'they' got £3,000,000 from the EU for this road?
Talking about big companies riding roughshod over the rest of us - did you see the report on the front page of the P&J yesterday about the infamous Beauly-Denny inquiry ?
She (John Muir Trust policy officer) reaffirms a much-recounted complaint that, at various stages of the process, objectors have had insufficient time to digest vast documents submitted at late notice by Scottish and Southern Energy and Shetl, while claiming to prove that the same deadlines have not been applied to the developers. This has left lay people ill-prepared to face barristers representing the electricity giants.
Anyone keeping an eye on the CWIF website http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk/ will see that time and again objection deadlines have been extended due to developers not producing documents when they should. Seems like it's one law for them and another for the rest of us.
peter macdonald
21-Aug-07, 11:34
I think the totally unnecessary Strathy/melvich road upgrade could play a big part in that.
Obviously a pleasure user not some one who uses the road for a serious purpose ie work Thanks Bekisman for putting sense into this thread
Funny how the least bit of news whether its this bit of news about road improvement or Helenwylers glowing report of her holiday in Caithness is being seized upon by the anti windfarm brigade as some sort of giant conspiracy
Is there not some pure wind farm threads on here where you can inform people of your views?????
A historical fact...road improvements up here were going on long before windfarms were thought of
PM
If you look at the start of this thread Peter you will see it is about the Strathy South windfarm and the traffic chaos this is likely to cause, not about the upgrade of the Strathy/Melvich road. Also, do you know that the new junction south of Golspie was thought of and needed before the Kilbraur windfarm was on the cards? If the windfarm developers are paying for this junction then thats fine - if the council are paying for it thats another matter.
peter macdonald
21-Aug-07, 18:35
Traffic Chaos from Thurso to Strathy for 6 months!
That is the title of the thread !!!
Was the Golspie junction not to do with the New Council HQ
I suppose Bill Fernie can give you details of this
PM
Traffic Chaos from Thurso to Strathy for 6 months!
That is the title of the thread !!!
Was the Golspie junction not to do with the New Council HQ
I suppose Bill Fernie can give you details of this
PM
That may be the title of the thread but it's not the subject of the first post which is definitely about the Strathy windfarms. So this is not the anti-windfarm brigade hijacking a thread - the thread started on windfarms.
peter macdonald
21-Aug-07, 19:50
Would it not have better and simpler to have just called the thread Strathy Windfarms or something similar then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PM
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