Latest news with #PaulMcLennan
The National
6 days ago
- Business
- The National
Calls for ‘farcical' North Berwick parking plans to be shelved
East Lothian Council had expected to have parking meters operating on the seaside town centre's streets last month but have hit snags getting planning permission from their own officers. Now the local authority has confirmed that earlier proposals to phase in the scheme by introducing off street charges in car parks, due to be introduced last April, have also been delayed after it was not practical to start charging people until the meters were in place. READ MORE: Scottish construction firm set to go into liquidation Since April 13, planning applications have been lodged seeking permission to install the meters in the conservation area. However, five have had to be withdrawn – one of them twice – while the rest remain undecided. The local authority insists the withdrawal of several of the applications is 'normal practice' in the planning process but declined to go into details over what was wrong with the initial proposals beyond saying it was due to 'accessibility of the proposed locations'. The pavements in some of North Berwick's town centre streets are narrow and already become clogged with tourists during busy periods. [[North Berwick]] is the first of five East Lothian towns due to see parking charges brought in with consultations ongoing over similar plans for Dunbar, Tranent, Haddington, and Musselburgh. East Lothian MSP Paul McLennan, who served as a councillor on the local authority before being elected to Holyrood said, in his experience, the number of application withdrawn was not normal. McLennan said the North Berwick scheme should be put on hold while consultations in other towns were being carried out. He said: 'The process has been poorly planned and in North Berwick it should be halted until decisions are made elsewhere in East Lothian.' Fellow East Lothian MSP Craig Hoy, who also served as a councillor and has been an outspoken opponent of town centre parking charges across the county, described the North Berwick situation as "farcical'. READ MORE: World's tallest cinema in Scottish city 'at risk of closure' He said: 'This is farcical. It goes to show that East Lothian Council hadn't thought through either the impact of parking charges on residents or the practical consequences of installing parking metres in historic and conservation areas in the town.' An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: 'Following ongoing consultation work, the proposed placement of a small number of parking meters was changed. "This was in relation to accessibility of the proposed locations. As is normal practice in the planning process, the previous applications were withdrawn and new applications for the amended locations were submitted.' On the decision not to introduce car park charges in April as originally proposed, they said: 'Off-street charges haven't been introduced. We are seeking to deliver the overall proposal at the same time rather than in parts.'
Daily Record
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
SNP MSPs call for Israeli Defense Forces to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation
A motion attacking Israel's military was signed by several MSPs from the SNP and Scottish Greens. Two former Scottish Government ministers have backed calls for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. Paul McLennan and Ben Macpherson signed a motion lodged at Holyrood last week by SNP MSP James Dornan, a repeated critic of the Israeli Government. It condemns a recent vote by MPs at Westminster to ban the Palestine Action activist group in the UK after it broke into an RAF base and damaged several warplanes. The motion, which is also backed by several Green MSPs, calls on the Home Secretary to instead "proscribe only those organisations that, it considers, really do, or did, cause a threat to life, such as the Israel Defense Forces". The call was branded "ludicrous" by the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Chief executive Michael Wegier told the Times: "If the IDF did not exist, Israel would cease to exist. "Had the IDF not existed since Israel was created in 1948, there would be no Israel. So the only implication of this motion is that it is calling for the dissolution of the state of Israel, which is clearly antisemitic. "We, as Jews, are not horrified by the idea that people might criticise the Israeli government, but there is a distinction between that and calling for Israel's dissolution — and the proscribing of the IDF would be exactly that, if it was seen through to its logical conclusion." Wegier continued: "If the Scottish National Party one day wants there to be an independent Scotland, and wants to be taken seriously as an international player in the Middle East, making yourself an anathema to the one liberal democratic country in the Middle East does seem rather absurd,' he said. "The SNP, and Scottish politicians generally, need to ask themselves the question of whether they want Scottish Jews to feel comfortable living in Scotland. Because I know from the conversations I've had, with both Jews in Scotland and Jews in the UK or Israel who are from Scotland, that they are horrified at the tenor of the anti-Israel conversation and the lack of understanding of Israel's predicament." Westminster's decision to ban Palestine Action - meaning anyone found to be supporting the group faces arrest - has been questioned by Scottish trade unionists, who said it risked "undermining efforts to counter real terrorist organisations". The decision to ban the group was welcomed by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. But SNP MPs abstained when the issued was voted on in the Commons last week. A Nationalist MP later suggested they would have voted against the motion had it not meant that they would also be voting against proscribing two far-right groups, the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement. An SNP spokesperson told the Times: "Since the beginning of this conflict, the SNP has been consistent in calling for an immediate ceasefire by all parties, the unconditional release of hostages, an end to UK arms sales to Israel and the recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state as part of a two-state solution to secure a lasting peace. "The focus of the international community must be in ensuring that peace is delivered, that humanitarian aid is delivered unimpeded to those who need it and that the international rule of law is enforced."
The Herald Scotland
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Paul McLennan: 'Future for Torness is one that embraces renewables'
My aim has been to harness the skills and knowledge of the hundreds of people employed at Torness to supercharge Scotland's journey to net zero. The future of energy in Scotland is undoubtedly in renewables. Our renewable energy industry and its supply chain now support more than 47,000 jobs and supported £15.5 billion of output in 2022. Offshore wind also powered the most activity across the Scottish economy, generating more than £6.8 billion of output, followed by onshore wind with £6.4bn and hydropower with £1.4bn. New nuclear plants in the UK have been subject to significant delays and huge cost hikes, none of which actually benefit ordinary people. Read more: The UK Labour Government's obsession with new nuclear is absurd – it's expensive and would take decades to build, far less see any impact on bills. At a time when household bills are soaring, politicians have a duty to think very carefully about what will deliver on increasing demand – while also thinking about our environment and the impact on the pockets of constituents like mine in Dunbar. The cost of new nuclear plants is also very unpredictable. In its latest estimate, EDF says its Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant could be delayed to as late as 2031, with costs rising to £46bn. Let's not forget, the project was initially expected to cost £18bn when it was first agreed in 2016. EDF has also experienced delays building the same reactors in Finland and France. Paul McLennan, East Lothian MSP (Image: Newsquest) Looking forward, my focus is clear: it's on clean, green renewable energy, which Scotland has in abundance. Torness can be a beacon of how decomissioning can deliver opportunities for the workforce and deliver lower bills too. Scotland already produces more renewable electricity than we need. We also have hydro power stations – just one way of filling in any gaps in the generation of power. At the heart of any energy policy must be the public – constituents like mine in East Lothian and across Scotland, who have seen their energy bills soar in recent years. Now a year into government at Westminster, Labour has so far failed to deliver on its promises to cut household energy bills by £300. The key to lower bills is meaningful investment in areas of renewable energy, which is cheaper to produce and is also cheaper for consumers. Torness has a wealth of skills and experience to deliver on that goal. I meet with station manager Paul Forrest on a regular basis to discuss the decommissioning as we move towards 2030. Paul managed the process of closing Hunterston, which I think was managed very well. We discuss the role of EDF, Enterprise Agencies and Scottish Government in that process. But what of the future of Torness? I back the Scottish Government's focus on renewable energy. Scotland's Energy Secretary Gillian Martin recently stated that the Scottish Government will "capitalise on renewable energy capacity" rather than "expensive new nuclear". My vision for Torness is one that embraces the capabilities of renewables such as hydrogen power. Read more: Scotland has, in abundance, all the raw ingredients necessary for the production of low-cost hydrogen. We also boast some of the largest concentrations of energy engineering expertise in the world – including many at Torness – who can harness Scotland's renewable energy potential in technologies like wind, wave and tidal power, to produce green hydrogen. Low-carbon hydrogen can unlock thousands more jobs in our energy sector and can deliver clean, green energy as our demand is only set to increase. I've been engaged with EDF's renewables division to scope out opportunities in this space and I'll continue to work with a range of stakeholders to deliver a just transition for my constituents, and all of Scotland. Paul McLennan is the East Lothian MSP.
Scotsman
21-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
East Lothian Council gets red card over parking meter plans
Councillors behind plans to introduce parking charges in an East Lothian town centre have been given the red card by angry residents. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... More than 100 people attended a community meeting on Thursday to share their views on proposals to introduce meters in Haddington as part of a county wide move by the local authority to manage parking in towns. The audience were handed green and red cards to hold up after questions were answered to show their support or rejections of the answers given. And Provost John McMillan, who made the case for the council's proposals found himself faced with a sea of red cards in response to his comments during the meeting. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was claimed the charges would drive away customers from the town centre and penalise the sick. People attending public meeting on parking charge proposals in Haddington give council the red card. | LDR Former Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP, who recently stepped down from the post to spend more time with his East Lothian constituents, told the meeting he could not support the parking charges plan for the town. He said the council had provided no evidence of the impact they would have on local shops and businesses and no costing for introducing the new system. He said: 'I can't support the current proposals when no impact assessment has been carried out and we don't know how much it is going to cost. We do not know how it will impact our high streets and trade.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The meeting heard from Garry Clark from the Federation of Small Businesses, who said its East Lothian members had raised concerns that the charges would drive away customers and were not fair. He pointed to similar schemes which had been introduced in Angus and Inverurie which he said had damaged town centres with councils having to go back to the drawing board. Mr Clark said: 'When you have retail parks on the edge of town with free parking and online shopping where people aren't having to park anywhere, it is unfair to charge customers who want to go into the town centre to shop.' Provost McMillan, who lives in Haddington and is the council administration's economic spokesperson, insisted the proposals, which have been included in a parking management scheme first put forward by the Labour administration in 2018, aimed to keep cars moving in the town centre with funds raised going back into the roads. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However he drew criticism from members of the public who questioned why there was a free car park for East Lothian Council staff at the local authority's Haddington town centre headquarters. One resident asked: 'Whey are council staff able to park for free while everyone else has to pay?' Councillor McMillan also drew gasps from some members of the audience when he told them that it has, in his opinion, become 'inbred that you can park anywhere you want in Haddington'. Haddington and District Community Council, who organised the meeting in the town's Knox Academy, described a council survey carried out as part of the public consultation into the proposals as 'bias' saying it carried out its own questionnaire which received hundreds of responses for the town's residents, visitors and traders. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad They said when asked if there were parking problems in Haddington over 85 per cent said no with the number who were against the introduction of meters rising to the high nineties. East Lothian MSP and former Scottish Housing Minister Paul McLennan addresses meeting about introduce parking charges in Haddington town centre. | LDR Mr McMillan stressed that the consultation was ongoing and the views of people in the town would be considered. He told the meeting: 'I am here to listen, I am here to answer questions and I am here to collaborate with you.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However his responses to questions about the staff car park in the town centre and explanations about trying to make people less dependent on cars to travel into the town saw red cards raised in response almost unanimously by the audience. The council proposes changing the town centre parking in Haddington, which currently offers 90 minutes before drivers have to move on, to 30 minutes free and then charges being introduced. However people at the meeting questioned whether it was possible for people, who travel into the town from outlying rural communities, to come into town and carry out appointments in the new 30 minute limit. East Lothian MSP Craig Hoy who has been a vocal opponent of the council's ongoing plans to introduce parking charges across the county, said it would mean charging the sick. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said: 'I have my constituency office in Haddington town centre and know how long a chat with a constituent who comes in to see me can take. 'What happens when they come in for GP appointments or have to collect prescriptions? This can't be done in 30 minutes so we are charging people who are sick to come and get help.'
Edinburgh Reporter
20-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
East Lothian Council gets red card over parking meter plans
Councillors behind plans to introduce parking charges in an East Lothian town centre have been given the red card by angry residents. More than 100 people attended a community meeting on Thursday to share their views on proposals to introduce meters as part of a county wide move by the local authority to manage parking in towns. The audience were handed green and red cards to hold up after questions were answered to show their support or rejections of the answers given. And Provost John McMillan, who made the case for the council's proposals found himself faced with a sea of red cards in response to his comments during the meeting. East Lothian MSP and former Scottish Housing Minister Paul McLennan addresses meeting about introduce parking charges in Haddington town centre It was claimed the charges would drive away customers from the town centre and penalise the sick. Former Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP, who recently stepped down from the post to spend more time with his East Lothian constituents, told the meeting he could not support the parking charges plan for the town. He said the council had provided no evidence of the impact they would have on local shops and businesses and no costing for introducing the new system. He said: 'I can't support the current proposals when no impact assessment has been carried out and we don't know how much it is going to cost. We do not know how it will impact our high streets and trade.' The meeting heard from Garry Clark from the Federation of Small Businesses, who said its East Lothian members had raised concerns that the charges would drive away customers and were not fair. He pointed to similar schemes which had been introduced in Angus and Inverurie which he said had damaged town centres with councils having to go back to the drawing board. Mr Clark said: 'When you have retail parks on the edge of town with free parking and online shopping where people aren't having to park anywhere, it is unfair to charge customers who want to go into the town centre to shop.' Provost McMillan, who lives in Haddington and is the council administration's economic spokesperson, insisted the proposals, which have been included in a parking management scheme first put forward by the Labour administration in 2018, aimed to keep cars moving in the town centre with funds raised going back into the roads. However he drew criticism from members of the public who questioned why there was a free car park for East Lothian Council staff at the local authority's Haddington town centre headquarters. One resident asked: 'Whey are council staff able to park for free while everyone else has to pay?' Councillor McMillan also drew gasps from some members of the audience when he told them that it has, in his opinion, become 'inbred that you can park anywhere you want in Haddington'. Haddington and District Community Council, who organised the meeting in the town's Knox Academy, described a council survey carried out as part of the public consultation into the proposals as 'bias' saying it carried out its own questionnaire which received hundreds of responses for the town's residents, visitors and traders. They said when asked if there were parking problems in Haddington over 85% said no with the number who were against the introduction of meters rising to the high nineties. Mr McMillan stressed that the consultation was ongoing and the views of people in the town would be considered. He told the meeting: 'I am here to listen, I am here to answer questions and I am here to collaborate with you.' However his responses to questions about the staff car park in the town centre and explanations about trying to make people less dependent on cars to travel into the town saw red cards raised in response almost unanimously by the audience. The council proposes changing the town centre parking in Haddington, which currently offers 90 minutes before drivers have to move on, to 30 minutes free and then charges being introduced. However people at the meeting questioned whether it was possible for people, who travel into the town from outlying rural communities, to come into town and carry out appointments in the new 30 minute limit. East Lothian MSP Craig Hoy who has been a vocal opponent of the council's ongoing plans to introduce parking charges across the county, said it would mean charging the sick. He said: 'I have my constituency office in Haddington town centre and know how long a chat with a constituent who comes in to see me can take. 'What happens when they come in for GP appointments or have to collect prescriptions? This can't be done in 30 minutes so we are charging people who are sick to come and get help.' By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
