27/02/2026
Here is a transcript of Eileen Wests speech at the Community Council Convention Round Table with Gillian Martin at Holyrood on๐ง ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ.
Thank you, Helen, and Cabinet Secretary,
I am Eileen West and I represent Feughside Community Council, Deeside - one of many rural communities overwhelmed by energy infrastructure and we fully
support the Unified Statement and the call for an independent mechanism to question the current system for the following reasons.
This is no longer a transition. It is an industrial land grab.
Hundreds of kilometres of pylons, vast wind farms, substations the size of small towns, battery storage and hydrogen plants and access roads are being driven through communities - often stacked one on top of another with no strategic planning.
This permanently reshapes landscapes, fragments habitats, changes established land use, alters local economies and fundamentally changes how people live. It is being done through a planning system communities no longer trust.
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ, ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ.
The Unified Statement is not rhetoric. It is evidence that the system is
failing where it matters most - public consent and social license.
Communities are told, repeatedly, that projects are "of national
importance." But
* when engagement is reduced to a "done deal" box-ticking exercise"...
* when unpaid volunteers in their spare time are expected to analyse
millions of words of technical applications in 30 days...
* when decisions are driven by policies that are outdated and blind to lived reality...
.. people conclude - understandably - that the consultation process is
legitimising decisions already made. Transparency is questioned. Trust
collapses.
The language we hear is stark. Contempt. Derision. Disrespect.
Communities understand the urgency. But urgency does not excuse injustice to those carrying the burden. It does not accelerate progress. It sabotages it.
Communities feel sacrificed when benefits flow elsewhere, resistance
hardens. Projects are delayed. Legal challenges multiply. Developers lose
credibility. Ministers lose public confidence.
That is the trajectory we are on.
We need new infrastructure. But is government willing to confront that a
fundamental reset is needed.
One that independently examines balancing climate goals with nature,
landscape and wellbeing - or if government targets override everything by default.
One that tests if consultation is meaningful, early and influential - not
procedural and performative.
One that ensures communities have timely and affordable access to expertise, not developer narratives.
One that assesses "honeypot" cumulative impacts on a spatial scale.
One that exposes regulatory gaming that is salami slicing and inadequate
oversight to enforce so-called mitigation promises.
Without this, conflict, opposition and delays will intensify. Confidence in
the legitimacy of the entire planning system will continue to erode.
With it, Scotland has a chance to deliver a fair, democratic and durable
transition.
๐๐๐ govern with our consent. That consent cannot be assumed. We must not be treated as collateral damage.
Please place community voices at the heart of how our future energy is
planned before already entrenched mistrust is irreversible.
Thank you for listening.
