Sir, – Hazel Lawson reported (Press and Journal, August 20) that Moray Council gave permission for uPVC windows to be installed in a C-listed building in a conservation area. Moray and Scotland have a number of conservation areas, established to protect areas of historic interest or special architectural interest. They help keep our environment conserved and areas of outstanding beauty in place for generations to come.
It seems that members voted against the advice of legal officers and the extant policy of the council.
This is an interesting issue, for are council policies now to be ignored? And is the legal advice given by council officials and shared with councillors also to be ignored?
This decision leaves councillors who previously kept to policy and legal advice in a potentially exposed position.
It may also frustrate applicants and appellants whose applications were subjected to extant policy and legal positions being enforced.
One of the reasons seemingly given for going against council policy and legal advice is the number of other properties that have broken policy and legislation but for whom the council have not pursued enforcement action.
Whilst one appreciates the financial challenge here within, alongside the impacts of a climate and cost of living crisis, the failure to pursue those breaking the law or policies, and elected members going against policy and legal advice, may feel to some like anarchy.
If the policy or legislation needs updated, then this needs to happen urgently – not ad hoc decisions made against current policy.
Where do we stop now with previous cases upheld in policy and law, and upcoming cases?
For many looking in, it may feel like some Moray councillors are making the rules up as they go along.
Thankfully the lessons of history prevail – and some try to preserve our past and the important lessons from it.
Neil McLennan, Portknockie, Moray.
Islands near the back of the queue
Sir, – How and where is the Scottish economy going to grow if we find ourselves “independent”?
As the Scottish Government begins its 10-year trek toward a promised land your leader (August 20) pointed out that Scotland’s islands are somewhere near the back of the queue in their thinking.
Ferry transport to the Isles seems to have been an afterthought. Despite an ageing fleet there doesn’t appear to have been ship replacement or quayside development planned despite a practical need if population expansion was on their “to do” list.
It has taken three years since its being nationalised for the SNP Government to realise their shipyard purchase was an embarrassment and they have now ordered a Shipyard Review of Productivity and Potential Improvements Study by a Dutch firm (it was the sole bidder for the work) at £212,544 before VAT.
In another “brave” act a 20-member quango has been formed to consider how to go about transforming the Scottish economy and has had four meetings in the last four months.
Meanwhile, we discover “freebie” school meals are off the government budget menu because the cost was to be shoved onto the councils – already grossly underfunded by Holyrood.
As with many other SNP public statements of this nature, it must come under the heading of “Fake News!”
You have to wonder how gullible a sizeable section of the electorate are, especially when nationalist sympathisers turned up with offensive banners and egg projectiles at the Perth conference, all reminiscent of what happened in the US recently.
Sam Coull, Lendrum Terrace, Boddam, Peterhead.
Climate deniers’ science is so wrong
Sir, – Climate change is driven by the way heat is radiated from the surface of the planet and then trapped and re-radiated back to the surface by greenhouse gases. The more excess greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere, the more heat is radiated back.
Radiation, convection and conduction play their part in transferring the excess heat throughout the environment. The atmosphere and oceans, as they heat up, become more dynamic. Our ecosystem also plays a key role, it is part of the water cycle, transferring water far inland and it both produces and absorbs CO2.
The natural level of excess greenhouse gases is around 200 million tons annually from volcanoes.
“Excess” means additional greenhouse gas emission over and above the naturally occurring CO2 production and removal inherent in our living ecosystem.
The planet had evolved to cope with that 200 million tonnes by ice slowly melting and plant growth increasing, pulling the temperature back down until the planet was so cool an ice age occurred.
In that period, CO2 levels oscillated between 170 and 300 ppm. The temperatures implied by that range is what every current living thing, including us, evolved to live in.
In 2021, the average CO2 level was 416 ppm.
To give context – all of this means that putting 36 billion tons of excess greenhouse gases annually into the atmosphere is not a great idea. Around 70% of that is as a result of mining and burning fossil fuels.
It heats the planet faster than can be dealt with by natural systems and stresses many of those systems faster than they can adapt.
What is stunning about Mr Wardrop (Letters, August 24), and the many climate deniers in your paper, is that their science is so wrong (perhaps from the wackiest of internet misinformation sites).
Or perhaps they deny climate change because they have not one solution to suggest except to misinform others and pretend it is not happening. They are part of the problem which has delayed meaningful action since 1979.
Lesley Ellis, Reekitlane, Tarland.
Can’t be relied on to build two ships
Sir, – The first minister tells us energy firms should be nationalised.
Given that her only nationalisation to date has been the CalMac ferry business, which is massively over budget and three years behind completion, can we really take her seriously?
If she cannot be relied on to build two boats, what chance is there that she can run an energy company?
Andrew Dingwall-Fordyce, Garlogie House, Westhill.
Tax visitors to city
Sir, – It is a well-known fact that other major cities in Europe impose a tax on visitor stays at hotels, bed and breakfast, private lets etc.
This is because visitors, although spending money in the city, enjoy all the facilities provided to residents paying a yearly council tax.
To help councils, impose this tax to help council taxpayers keep their bills low.
Don McKay, Provost Hogg Court, Torry.
Eurovision? We need to be real
During the furore over Aberdeen hosting the Eurovision song contest, business leaders, councillors, MSPs, MPs and others came out of the woodwork hailing the city as the best thing since sliced bread (Evening Express, August 11)!
SH (Your Voice, August 18) disagreed, which I agree with.
We don’t have an international airport, poor infrastructure, accommodation spread all over and the city centre offers little to visitors.
Why then, when Beautiful Scotland paid a visit to see what it had to offer, it was as a “small city” contender (EE, August 13)?
Councillors, MSPs, MPs and any other officials should get their heads out of the sand and stop looking at Aberdeen through rose-tinted glasses. Finish what is going on now and stop the dreaming!
T Shirron, Davidson Drive, Aberdeen.
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