Fife communities need voice over major electricity generation and storage plans
A call has been made to give communities “a voice” over proposed major electricity generation and storage developments in Fife.
Councillor, Kathleen Leslie (Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy, Conservative) raised a motion at Thursday’s Fife Council meeting asking for measures to improve community engagement when it comes to planned energy developments.
She has requested “real time mapping”, dialogue with the Scottish Government to ensure the cumulative impact of a potential grid connection is considered for any applications and also on community engagement.
The need for more training for community councils in relation to planning applications is also being sought.
The Conservative councillor explained: “This is not about stopping wind turbines and battery energy storage. It is about the communication that communities are often left with - the feeling that it is going to happen so what is the point in providing feedback.
“I am trying to get complete transparency on what is where in Fife. We want to see real time mapping. I know the SNP has put forward an amendment that real time mapping is available on the council’s planning portal but you have to dig around to find the information.
“We should also consider how close is a battery facility to a school, care home or other infrastructure. Both the community councils and the wider communities need to be consulted better. This information will mean people are empowered.”
An agreement between Conservative and Labour councillors to ask that Fife Council asks officers to develop a policy on community benefits for Net Zero was also included in the final motion with a report due to come back to elected members in the future.
SNP councillor Rod Cavanagh had put forward an amendment asking the council to recognise that it was desirable that communities are fully engaged in consultation and are suitably empowered to respond.
He also requested that it be recognised that Fife applications were already managed in Fife in a wider context. However Cllr Leslie’s motion was carried with a vote of 37 to 32.