Map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/2928bb39f0dd4ab68f1b3a8988861af5
Highlands residents will now be able to see the proposed renewables projects in their home areas, thanks to a new interactive map from Highland Council.
The move comes after Cllr Helen Crawford lodged a motion last year calling for a real-time map of such developments. It was supported by over 60 community councils and eventually backed by other councillors late last year.
Many Highlands residents had raised concerns about the large number of projects being proposed, and the difficulty in keeping up with new ones. This map will help identify projects, their size and scale, and who is responsible for them.
Cllr Crawford said:
"It’s definitely a good day for democracy and step forward but Highland Council needs to ensure the map is up to date and fully compliant with the wording of my Motion.
I’ll continue to press for that and urge anyone who loves The Highlands to do the same.
This full mapping should have been carried out by the Scottish Government well before now and it should not have been left to someone like me to present a motion to the Highland Council to get the information into the public domain.
I am just glad it is out there and I hope that it is a support to members of the public and our many Community Councillors who are trying to respond to complex, major applications for renewables infrastructure.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and this picture is pretty sobering."