WIND IN THEIR SAILS
Teanagers fly kites at the proposed Gala Rig community windfarm. They are amongst the age group to be allowed to air their views andcast a vote on the project.
AS a debate is played out nationally over whether 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote in a referendum on Scottish independence, Selkirk is set to raise the bar on youth enfranchisement.
For a postal ballot organised by the Selkirk Regeneration Company (SRC) on the best location for a community wind farm – the first of its kind in the Borders – will offer a vote to every resident in the TD7 postcode area, which encompasses Selkirk, Ashkirk, Lindean, Midlem and the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys.
And the eligible electorate will include all young people of secondary school age, provided they were born before August 15, 2000. That means children as young as 11 will be able have their say on a choice of locations on Common Good land and the scale of the proposed development, details of which are exclusively revealed in The Wee Paper today.
Voting forms and a newsletter are due to be sent out during the week beginning February 20 and must be returned by Wednesday, March 14.
The public will be asked to choose from three options: a large-scale development of three giant turbines on the North Common at Sunderland Hope or two much smaller and cheaper projects on the South Common, just south-west of Gala Rig.
It will be the second public vote on a community wind farm.
Back in 2009, in a ballot overseen by Scottish Borders Council and run by the SRC’s charitable predecessor the Selkirk Regeneration Group, a majority voted in favour of investigating further plans to develop community-owned wind turbines to provide an income stream for the town over a 25-year lifespan, while helping meet national targets on renewable electricity generation.
With the receipt of a £140,000 loan in October last year, the SRC was charged to take the project to the planning application stage.
And the forthcoming consultation and vote is part of that process.
Asked why the vote should be open to secondary school children, Jenny Agate, SRC director, told us: “As someone who was involved with the summer project at Rowland’s Dry Bar on the theme of ‘respect’, I was struck by the level of interest, awareness and understanding by the young people about the environment.
“These 12-18-year-olds showed an awareness ... and it was obvious to me that the young people in Selkirk are concerned about their future, personally, communally and environmentally, and this is why we feel they should have a vote on the future of their town.”
The Options – page 7
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Weather for Selkirk
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
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Grumpy Souter
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:46 AMChoose from three options, North Common or two sites on South Common. Will we have the option to vote NO to all sites or has it been decided that the project is going ahead and all that has to be agreed is the size and the location of the turbines
norfolkboy14
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:10 AMAre you disillusioned by rising electricity prices, over dependence on the "green" dream [especially uneconomical and inefficient wind farms] and the destruction of our countryside then please register your objection to the Government on http:epetitions.direct.gov.ukpetitions22958 or by GOOGLING "E-PETITION 22958" and following the link. Please pass this message on to Councillors, members of your community and anyone else you know to persuade them to sign up too. If you are really concerned about wind turbines please write a letter promoting this petition to your local Newsletter and to the Editors of your local newspapers.
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