Stornoway Community Council has delivered a powerful objection to the proposed Spiorad na Mara windfarm, arguing that the vast development represents a poor economic deal for the Western Isles and asking the Scottish Government not to overturn the assessment of local planning officers.
The Community Council formally opposed application 26/00167/PPDM after considering the development in June and has now set out why it believes the project should not proceed.
Its objection is notable because it does not oppose renewable energy, with the council explicitly recognising climate change as real and windfarms as necessary, while pointing to future flood risks facing Stornoway itself.
Instead, it asks a much harder question about who ultimately benefits from development on this scale.
The council argues that smaller community owned windfarms could leave considerably more money in the islands while having a substantially smaller visual impact.
Its submission says Spiorad na Mara would take up 900 MW, half the capacity of the planned 1.8 GW Western Isles interconnector, while perhaps 400 MW of smaller projects currently face difficulties securing satisfactory grid connections.
It highlights proposals from West Coast Community Energy Group for nine turbines with a projected 49 MW output and says an expert consulted by the council estimated that such a project could potentially generate community benefit comparable with the £4.5 million annual payment promised by the much larger Spiorad na Mara development.
That leads the council to an uncompromising conclusion, stating: “Viewed from a monetary perspective, Spiorad na Mara is a mistake of historic proportions.”
Tourism is another major concern, particularly for Stornoway, where much of the islands’ hospitality industry is concentrated.
The council points to concerns already expressed by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Economic Development over the methodology used to assess tourism impacts, including what it described as a lack of engagement with the tourism sector and outdated data.
Its argument is simple.
If tourism survives unaffected after construction, Stornoway retains what it already has, but if the development damages the islands’ appeal, the town carries that economic loss without receiving community benefit as compensation.
The River Creed provides another very local concern.
Stornoway Angling Association, which has more than 200 members, fears construction pollution from the proposed converter station close to the river could damage its populations of brown trout, wild salmon and eels.
The Creed is more than a fishing river, with walking around it and seeing salmon jumping through the water described as part of everyday Stornoway life for generations.
The Community Council also supports objections raised elsewhere over the turbines’ visual impact, wildlife, peat disturbance, noise, commercial fisheries and cultural heritage, but deliberately concentrates its own case on economics, tourism and the Creed.
Secretary of Stornoway Community Council Mike Macleod said:
“There is no logical reason for Stornoway Community Council to support this development.
“For Stornoway, Spiorad na Mara is a Windfarm Too Far.”
That final line captures the wider argument running through the council’s submission.
The question being asked in Stornoway is not whether the Western Isles should participate in Scotland’s renewable energy future, but whether an island rich in renewable resources should accept this particular deal for doing so.
