Looming Deadline For Scoping Consultation
November 6th is the deadline for the Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar consultation on scoping to determine what is included in the N4 Environmental Impact Assessment (which will decide on whether or not the wind farm is granted planning permission).
The EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) is a vital survey in the planning permission process. ‘EIAs make sure that project decision makers think about the likely effects on the environment at the earliest possible time and aim to avoid, reduce or offset those effects’ (ScotGov).
This consultation will determine how the EIA is conducted - what the main issues are, how information is to be gathered and assessed, who is going to be consulted etc.
This assessment will include the Social Impact Assessment - in other words how it will affect YOU - your business, your livelihoods, your culture etc.
We do not believe that our council has made it a priority to share this information publicly and give Lewis residents the opportunity to comment on what should be highlighted in the EIA.
Please share this information widely and write to CnES planning department by 5pm on the 6th of November.
On the 5th November, Eilean Mo Ghaoil emailed all councillors within the Comhairle along with Angus McNeil, Alisdair Allen, Marine Scotland, Nature Scot and the Stornoway Historical Society.
The email reads as follows:
“To Whom It May Concern,
We would like to register our concerns regarding the planning application for the Spiorad na Mara wind farm Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report.
We are surprised and saddened that an application of this scale and relevance to local communities was not advertised to the public to give Lewis residents the opportunity to comment. We were advised by Marine Scotland to pass comments to our local community council but it transpires that all community councils will not be constituted until after the consultation deadline. At present, it appears that no community council has been consulted on this matter despite communication from Marine Scotland stating otherwise. On attempting to find a single community council contact or secretary on the CnES website we were confronted with a page that lacks any names or contact information. The combination of the aforementioned is extremely concerning and indicative of an unacceptable lack of representation.
Furthermore, the link to the ‘Consultation Request By Email’ Application Form on the council planning portal is broken. It should be noted that this application should have been advertised to the public as per regular planning application protocol. It was not featured in any public facing media that generally details upcoming planning applications sited on Lewis.
The Environmental Impact Report is highly relevant to Lewis residents and therefore it is our belief that more care should have been taken by the Comhairle to make this information publicly available. We will be sharing this information widely and encouraging residents to make their views known.
In absence of community council representatives we are forced to refer to you. This is an urgent request for you to take action before 5pm tomorrow (6.11.23) to ensure a deadline extension is granted in order to provide residents of the Isle of Lewis the opportunity to read and comment on the Scoping Report, and to contact their local representatives.
We are a collective of Isle of Lewis residents; Gaels, business owners, crofters, parents and water users.
We respectfully request a response by return.
Dùrachdan,
Eilean mo Ghaoil”