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Revealed: The 30 Highland councillors calling for a rethink of Caley Thistle’s battery storage plan

The fate of Caley Thistle's proposal will be decided by councillors on March 14.

A battle has been brewing between Caley Thistle and Highland Council over the club's battery storage proposal.
A battle has been brewing between Caley Thistle and Highland Council over the club's battery storage proposal.

All of the north’s main political groups are represented among the 30 councillors calling for Caley Thistle’s controversial battery storage proposal to be reviewed.

Highland Council papers for next week’s crunch meeting to decide the project’s fate show support from the SNP, the Lib Dems, the Conservatives, the Greens and the Highland Alliance group.

The plan was initially approved by the council’s south planning applications committee last month.

But the slim 3-2 margin and the fact that so few people took part in the vote prompted calls for a rethink.

Who are the 30 councillors calling for another vote?

Nairn councillor Paul Oldham, who is vice-chairman of the planning committee, circulated an email calling for a notice of amendment in the aftermath of the original vote.

That effectively means revisiting the decision at a full council meeting. It would allow all 73 current Highland councillors to vote on it.

A total of 30 councillors signed Mr Oldham’s amendment, which means it will now be voted on again on March 14.

As well as covering the council’s main political groups, the signatories are also spread across the region, both inside and outside Inverness.

There are 13 from the SNP:

  • Paul Oldham, Nairn and Cawdor
  • Michael Cameron, Inverness Central
  • Tamala Collier, Cromarty Firth
  • Kate MacLean, Inverness Central
  • Drew Millar, Skye
  • Ken Gowans, Inverness South
  • Ian Brown, Inverness Millburn
  • Glynis Campbell-Sinclair, Culloden and Ardersier
  • Marianne Hutchison, North, West and Central Sutherland
  • Chris Birt, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh
  • Liz Kraft, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh
  • Sarah Fanet, Fort William and Ardnamurchan
  • Emma Knox, Aird and Loch Ness
Councillor Paul Oldham wants the decision to be looked at again. Image: Highland Council

There are five Lib Dems:

  • Alasdair Christie, Inverness Ness-side
  • Richard Gale, East Sutherland and Edderton
  • Angus MacDonald, Fort William and Ardnamurchan
  • Trish Robertson, Culloden and Ardersier
  • John Grafton, Caol and Mallaig

Four Independents:

  • Thomas MacLennan, Fort William and Ardnamurchan
  • Sarah Atkin, Black Isle
  • Sean Kennedy, Dingwall and Seaforth
  • Calum Munro, Skye

Three Conservatives:

  • Barbara Jarvie, Nairn and Cawdor
  • Liz Saggers, Caol and Mallaig
  • Andrew Sinclair, Inverness South

Green councillors Chris Ballance (Aird and Loch Ness), Andrew Baldrey (Caol and Mallaig) and Kate Willis (Fort William and Ardnamurchan) have also signed.

As well as two members of the Highland Alliance group: Matthew Reiss (Thurso and Northwest Caithness) and Andrew Jarvie (Wick and East Caithness).

What happens next?

News that a second vote has the backing of such a wide range of political persuasions and geography will be a blow to Caley Thistle’s hopes of success.

Labour is the only political group not represented, although it only has two members on Highland Council.

If the 30 who signed the notice of amendment all vote against the proposal, it would require only another seven out of the remaining 43 councillors to reach a majority.

It should be pointed out though that agreeing there should be a second vote doesn’t necessarily mean a councillor will be voting against Caley Thistle’s plans.

ICT chairman Ross Morrison.

But at this stage, it’s not looking good for the club.

Caley Thistle chairman Ross Morrison called a meeting for fans on Wednesday night and said a successful application would be worth £3.4m to them.

He also stated the club is plotting a legal challenge that could prevent the council from deciding the application next week.

If things don’t go their way, Caley Thistle is almost certain to appeal to the Scottish Government to overturn the decision.

Which means that regardless of the outcome of next Thursday’s council vote, this issue will not be going anywhere for quite some time.

What is Caley Thistle trying to do?

The proposal is for a battery storage scheme at Fairways Business Park.

The £40m project would see containers storing up to 50MW of electricity there.

It ran into difficulty when council planners recommended that the plans be refused.

The proposed site is highlighted in red on this map.

The reasoning was that the area of land has already been designated as a protected green space.

There were also concerns about noise for nearby residents.

The council’s ecology and environmental health teams also objected to the plans.

A petition calling on councillors to reject the plans has recently been created by Inshes and Milton of Leys Community Council.

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