Highland Council has been engulfed in controversy after Cllr Ruraidh Stewart, Member for Skye and Leader of the Conservative Group, was thrown out of the chamber for attempting to move an amendment calling for a Judicial Review into Scottish Ministers’ approval of the £488 million Skye Reinforcement Project.
Cllr Stewart said he had been led to believe the matter would be debated and decided by the full Council in public. He revealed he was only informed today that the deadline for Judicial Review had already passed.
“This is nothing short of a farce,” said Cllr Stewart. “Our planning committees voted to object, which by law should have forced a Public Local Inquiry. But SNP Ministers dismissed that objection as being lodged ‘too late.’ Now, unbelievably, the SNP administration on Highland Council tells us it is also ‘too late’ to act. Our communities have been told twice that their voice doesn’t matter.”
The Council’s report relied on a legal opinion which claimed a Judicial Review had “no reasonable prospects of success.”
But Stewart said this was no excuse for inaction: “One opinion should not be the end of the matter. That is why we have courts to test the evidence and let an independent judge decide. Our duty was to stand up for the people of the Highlands”
The report itself admitted there were factual errors in the Ministers’ decision notice including inaccurate claims about when the Council’s objection was lodged, and a failure to acknowledge the Council’s request for more time after receiving new environmental information.
When Cllr Stewart sought to move his amendment, he was silenced, ruled out of order, and asked to leave the chamber after refusing to apologise for stating he felt he had been misled.
“This chamber, this very building, risks becoming meaningless,” Cllr Stewart warned. “If Ministers can ignore our planning committees, if deadlines are hidden from Members, and if councillors are thrown out for defending their communities, then what exactly is the point of Highland Council? Local democracy is being shredded before our eyes.”
The Skye Reinforcement Project, led by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc, will replace the existing overhead line from Fort Augustus to Ardmore, with Ministers insisting it is vital for energy security and renewable connections. But opponents argue it will damage sensitive landscapes and undermine local decision-making.
Cllr Stewart concluded: “The SNP administration has failed to defend Skye and the Highlands. Instead of standing up for our communities, they folded, hid behind civil servants, and let the clock run down. Our people deserve better.”