Parliament to Debate Powerline Public Enquiry
The Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives and MSP for Mid-Scotland & Fife, Murdo Fraser, has secured a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the handling of the public inquiry into the proposed Beauly to Denny power line.
The Members’ debate will take place on 19 September in the Scottish Parliament and will be based on the MSP ’s motion (see below) which outlines concern at the conduct of the public inquiry into the power line. The motion also states that there is a lack of confidence from many objectors in the handling of the inquiry and that the current conduct of the inquiry is preventing a fully democratic inquiry.
A number of action groups that have given evidence in the public inquiry plan to hold a rally outside parliament before the debate takes place. See ‘notes to editors’ for full parliamentary motion. |
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Commenting, Murdo Fraser said: “I have a deep concern relating to the approach to, and conduct of, the Beauly to Denny public inquiry. That is why it is important that the Scottish Parliament discusses the handling of this public inquiry in order that its conduct can be fully scrutinised.
Undemocratic
“It is clear to me that the public inquiry is not fully examining all the issues and that important evidence is being dismissed. Furthermore, it seems that the public inquiry is rigidly sticking to its timetable and rushing through evidence instead of fully considering it. I believe that this is wrong and undemocratic. These problems must be addressed because the scale of this application is huge and much of Scotland will be affected by this power line if it is given the go ahead."
He continued: "This public inquiry is costing huge sums of money and taking up a massive amount of time and resources. In fact, this inquiry is the largest public inquiry in Scotland’s history, taking evidence from hundreds of individuals, organisations and campaign groups."
Loss of Faith
"That is why I do not want to see a public inquiry give a decision on this massive application when it has lost the trust and faith of the people giving evidence," he added.
"Many people will not be satisfied with the outcome of this public inquiry if they believe that the issues were not fully investigated and that important evidence was not taken into account.
“We need an open, transparent and democratic public inquiry into this power line so that all the views and evidence can be aired and the public is satisfied with its work. It seems that currently this is not the case, and this must be looked into by the Scottish Government.”
The Full Debate Motion
"That the Parliament is concerned with the conduct of the public inquiry into the proposed Beauly to Denny 400kV electricity transmission line; notes that there is a lack of confidence from many objectors in the current handling of the inquiry and that objectors have raised concerns with Reporters but that these concerns have been dismissed; further notes with concern that many objectors’ submissions have been ruled inadmissible; believes that serious issues are not being fully considered due to the strict adherence to the inquiry timetable, and further believes that the current conduct of the public inquiry will prevent a fully democratic inquiry and does nothing to reassure the 17,000 objectors that this is a fair process."
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