Quoting the Inverness Courier here citizens but it seems that those involved in local democracy just off the A96 down at Ardersier feel that something is amiss with the plans for an instant 10,000 new community between them and the existing traffic jams.
‘Ardersier and Petty Community Council claims a consultation exercise failed to mention any prospect of a new community of up to 10,000 residents between Tornagrain and Drumine and instead focused on expanding existing settlements.’
You get the drift of their concerns with that wee paragraph. The Invernessian dead wood bi-weekly goes on to quote Community Councillor Jim Brennan:
‘This process is very, very, wrong and should stop now until proper public consultation can be carried out.’
Just can’t help feeling that in this day and age consultation is becoming more and more of a dirty word. Anyone out there think that you get consultation and then you get what the authorities want?
Another interesting point was made deeper in the depths of the Courier, Ruairidh Macilleathain wrote in his Gàidhlig column:
‘Tha an talamh anns an sgìre sin gu math torrach agus nach bu choir dhuinn a bhith a’ togail thaighean far nach cailleamaid a leithid de dh’ fhearann? No nach eil torrachas an fhearainn a’ cunntadh airson mòran nuair a thig e don airgead mhòr a tha an lùib taigheadas?’
Translation:The land in that district is very fertile and shouldn't we be building houses where we would lose such land? Or isn’t the fertility of land counting for much when it comes to the big money that is involved with housing?
‘Ardersier and Petty Community Council claims a consultation exercise failed to mention any prospect of a new community of up to 10,000 residents between Tornagrain and Drumine and instead focused on expanding existing settlements.’
You get the drift of their concerns with that wee paragraph. The Invernessian dead wood bi-weekly goes on to quote Community Councillor Jim Brennan:
‘This process is very, very, wrong and should stop now until proper public consultation can be carried out.’
Just can’t help feeling that in this day and age consultation is becoming more and more of a dirty word. Anyone out there think that you get consultation and then you get what the authorities want?
Another interesting point was made deeper in the depths of the Courier, Ruairidh Macilleathain wrote in his Gàidhlig column:
‘Tha an talamh anns an sgìre sin gu math torrach agus nach bu choir dhuinn a bhith a’ togail thaighean far nach cailleamaid a leithid de dh’ fhearann? No nach eil torrachas an fhearainn a’ cunntadh airson mòran nuair a thig e don airgead mhòr a tha an lùib taigheadas?’
Translation:The land in that district is very fertile and shouldn't we be building houses where we would lose such land? Or isn’t the fertility of land counting for much when it comes to the big money that is involved with housing?
4 comments:
Could all this be translated as: "Stop the world, I want to get off"?
The first time around the clearances removed the people from the land in order to grow sheep. This time it seems that the beasts and the crops are going to be shoved off in order to build houses. Common thread here is money. I am sure many farmers in the UK are looking to sell land for houses. Its more lucrative than farming, and if you are in the right place selling just one field can provide a nice retirement.
Yeah our species keeps multiplying and we have to live somewhere. I just wonder what will happen if other countries are one day no longer willing or able to supply us with food and we’ve used up lots of our farmland for houses.
Personally I think it would be good to keep the fertile land locally for stuff that can be grown and then sold locally too.
'Maybe it's because I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one...'
Anyone out there think that you get consultation and then you get what the authorities want?
In a word, yes. In lots of words, yes, consultation tends to be a wee pretendy listen for PR reasons only (IMHO).
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