YOUR VIEWS: The emergency service in the north is ‘extraordinary’, and Coul Links approval is not a certainity
Emergency service on the north coast is ‘extraordinary’
Letter from Gordon Macpherson, Skerray.
I recently experienced a very serious situation while on my croft at Skerray when a close friend suffered a medical emergency.
I contacted the 999 number on my mobile phone and explained the situation. The operator was extremely helpful and recorded the main details.
I was then asked to end the call and wait for a text. This came shortly after and showed a link to contact.
We were then in video and sound contact with a specialist who interviewed my friend who was in a very confused and distressed state.
The specialist then informed us that an ambulance was on the way.
When it arrived, my friend was quickly assessed by the two medics (driver Sarah) who decided to take my friend to Wick General Hospital immediately.
By the time I arrived at the hospital, my friend had been checked out and was awaiting a scan.
Thankfully my friend’s condition improved and a full recovery was made.
The reason I am relating this experience is to highlight the exemplary emergency service we have available, especially in a remote area on the North Coast.
Heartfelt thanks to all involved.
At a time when many column inches are devoted to the strains on the NHS, it is vital to recognise the extraordinary service given by its staff as highlighted in this case.
However, this should not detract from other pressing needs for investment especially on the North Coast where many NHS services are now being transferred to Inverness - or beyond.
It is quite clear that the talent and expertise is there - urgent investment should follow accordingly.
Sutherland is losing its ‘informal’ car parking spaces
Letter from Hugh Mackay, Skerray.
We are losing a lot of informal car parking in Sutherland. Mostly caused by continuous overnight parking or inconsiderate parking by tourists on the NC500.
I completely understand why landowners block off informal parking when they find that their property is advertised on social media as a great place to "wild" camp.
I discussed the issue with Mountaineering Scotland back in 2022 when we briefly lost access to Melvich Beach car park.
Their access officer made two points:
Visit Scotland has an annual funding of £75 million to pump visitors into the country.
Their Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund disburses about £3 million per year for projects across the whole of Scotland. Which isn't very much when you consider Achmelvich toilets alone cost £1.1 million.
Highland Council does not have the budget to create tourist infrastructure to meet the demand across a huge area. Whilst we wait for them to catch up we lose access.
The Scottish Government has the utopian ideal that we can reach everywhere by public transport.
You cannot go kayaking in Torrisdale Bay using public transport. This applies to just about any other outdoor recreation in Sutherland. You often need a car and somewhere to park the car.
The right to roam gives us access but often you cannot access the access without somewhere to park responsibly.
We have lost informal parking at Puffin Cove, Strathy Point, Loch Eriboll, Loch Loyal and above the pier at Bettyhill. And that's just what I'm aware of.
Whilst the NC500 is a great boost for the hospitality industry, if you are a local looking to spend a day hiking up Carnstackie, then good luck finding anywhere to park.
Value of cash has been highlighted by cyber attacks
Letter from Alastair Redman, Port Charlotte, Isle of Islay.
the recent cyber attack that forced the Co-op to shut down parts of its IT systems should serve as a wake-up call to all of us about the importance of preserving cash.
Too often we are told that digital is the future and that physical money is outdated. Yet when systems go down - whether through cyber attacks, technical faults, or power cuts - it is cash that keeps people fed, fuelled and functioning.
No amount of apps or algorithms can replace the reliability of coins and notes in a crisis. Cash does not crash, cannot be hacked, and requires no signal. It is privacy-protecting, universally accepted, and disproportionately vital to those in rural or lower-income communities.
We must resist the creeping push towards a cashless society.
Legal stinger to be thrown under Big Energy gravy train
Letter from Lyndsey Ward, Communities B4 Power.
THe recent publication of Highland Council’s Big Energy map made sobering viewing. The Scottish Government’s deliberate cover-up of the scale of Big Energy developments in the Highlands is unforgivable.
Over a decade ago the then Scottish Natural Heritage produced an annual windfarm map – nothing like the one we see today but alarming enough for the press to publish and show readers how the devastation was creeping across the Highlands.
There was outrage as more and more people became aware of how the Highlands were being secretly turned into one giant wind factory.
After a couple of years, in 2014, SNH stopped producing the map. We were told that the Scottish government would ‘take over’ its updating and publication. This never happened, and repeated requests for an update fell on deaf ears.
We were then promised the protection of wild land from industrialisation. This has now fallen by the wayside along with the hopes and dreams of those who have made the Highlands their home, where they have raised their families and where they work.
What we have now is nothing short of astonishing. Ministers talk to Big Energy, but not to campaigners. They accept ‘support’ from wind developers but won’t support their constituents who are reeling under the onslaught of multiple planning applications flooding into their local authorities.
The First Minister employs industry advisors, but his advice to those suffering emotionally, financially and mentally might as well be ‘put up and shut up’ for all the compassion he and his government have shown to those who pay their very lucrative salaries.
We have recently discovered that Big Energy is being allowed by the government and local councils NOT to address human health impacts in their Environmental Impact Assessment Reports.
Issues such as electromagnetic fields (EMF), RFI, air quality, major accidents and disasters, etc, have been ‘scoped out’ across the board.
Is it because they don’t want to be held liable if their developments make us or our children sick?
We know that multinationals have been held to account and successfully sued for millions for damaging the health of citizens by putting profit before people.
If folk can’t get justice from those responsible because the authorities have given them a ‘get out of jail free’ card, then they will go after the councils and government instead.
Highland protectors, not objectors, have had enough. They have fought to get their map in the public domain, albeit still lacking some developments, and now realise that the only way to stop this rogue and power-crazy government is through the courts.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride to hold these charlatans to account, but we fully intend to throw a legal stinger under the wheels of Big Energy’s gravy train.
Coul Links approval is not a certainity
Letter from John Campbell, Duns, Berwickshire.
Several recent articles about the proposed course expansion at Royal Dornoch Golf Club also talk up planning approval for a proposed golf course upon highly, thrice-protected land at Coul Links. Your piece on 9th March was one.
Can I respectfully remind your readership that Scottish Government approval for a Coul Links course is not a certainty? The application could fail for the same reasons as the earlier application, refused in 2020. The Inquiry evidence shows that for the currently proposed Coul Links course, there will be significant adverse and irreversible impact on irreplaceable habitat and protected species. Environmental tests today are much tougher. In addition, the supposed economic benefits are not nationally-important and cannot outweigh environmental loss in the planning balance.
Not Coul welcomes the projected course expansion at Royal Dornoch. It gives the club the chance to demonstrate its environmental and sustainability credentials, on links land which is not protected. However, there are two challenges to overcome.
First, the links west of the Struie course has abundant documented irreplaceable habitat.
Second, the coastal edge there has retreated 5-10 metres since the coastal erosion baseline survey carried out for RDGC in 2001.
If therefore the masterplan locates new holes inland beyond the forecast 2050-2100 erosion predictions, and avoids species like the rare dune heath and dune juniper, it really will be future-proof and environmentally-friendly. Credit would be given where it is properly due.
