Latest news with #Younie
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Windfarm schemes are a threat to Perthshire mountain landscape say outdoors group
The upland sites north of Comrie comprise 31 turbines with some as high as 200m – or three times the height of Stirling's Wallace Monument. Two controversial Perthshire windfarm schemes would intrude into the heartland of the Southern Highlands spoiling views for miles around according to Scotland's national mountaineering body. Perth-based Mountaineering Scotland is objecting to the proposed Glen Lednock and Glentarken windfarms on uplands around 600m high between Loch Tay and Loch Earn on the border of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Combined they comprise 31 turbines with some as high as 200m – or three times the height of Stirling's Wallace Monument. The national body representing hillwalkers and climbers believes the neighbouring windfarms are a significant encroachment from the edges of the mountains into their interior. The windfarms would impact views from Munros (hills above 3000ft) and other popular hills from 25km or 15.5 miles away. In a recent objection to the Glen Lednock Windfarm Mountaineering Scotland chief executive Stuart Younie said: 'It would have a significantly adverse impact upon the visual amenity and overall experience of those visiting the many Munros, Corbetts (hills between 2500ft and 3000ft) and other notable hills that ring the proposed high-altitude site in this popular area and that of the climbers who visit the crags and boulders in Glen Lednock itself.' A decision to enable 'such visually intrusive development to enter the interior of the Southern Highlands should not be made lightly,' he added. The Glen Lednock scheme, Mountaineering Scotland said, should be considered alongside the adjacent plan submitted by energy giant SSE above Glentarken – comprising 12 turbines. Mr Younie said a Landscape Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) ignores their cumulative impact. The visual impact from the Ben Lawers range to the north of the windfarms is described as 'substantial and not limited to the summits.' Other windfarms are seen towards the edge of the Southern Highlands, but the Glen Lednock Windfarm 'would appear unequivocally as being intrusively within the Southern Highlands.' It would be 'a major incursion' from the Munro Ben More and 'intrude directly and distractingly' in views from Munro Ben Vorlich across to Munro Ben Chonzie. A Low Carbon spokesperson said: 'Glen Lednock's submission has been written in accordance with Scottish Government guidance, including the agreement with relevant statutory consultees on a list of other developments for cumulative assessment. 'As standard practice the landscape and visual impacts will be assessed by relevant consultees both on a standalone and cumulative basis.' The PA contacted Perth-headquartered SSE for comment.
Scotsman
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
FWS portrait is a worthy cause for a city crowdfunding project
It happens occasionally – the Liberal Democrats on the city council come up with a good idea. Their latest wheeze, suggested by Cllr Lewis Younie, is for Edinburgh citizens to donate cash to city projects. 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... Speaking at last week's Finance Committee he said Edinburgh 'has a fantastic record of philanthropy and generosity among its residents right across the city.' Susan Smith, left, and Marion Calder, directors of For Women Scotland, cheer as they leave the Supreme Court in London following the landmark ruling against the Scottish Government Instead of dismissing his idea out of hand, finance convener Cllr Mandy Watt agreed to ask officials for a report, laughingly suggesting that the council could always fund raise for yet another statue of the great thinker David Hume. The idea even won the support of Scottish Green councillor Alex Staniforth, the man who threatened to review Edinburgh Women's Aid funding recently. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cllr's Younie's fundraising idea has some merit. Crowdfunders are ten a penny these days, with people asking friends and strangers alike for help for everything from funerals to plastic surgery. Charities use crowdfunding sites like JustGiving for special appeals or one-off events, such as the Edinburgh Kiltwalk – which is on Sunday 14 September this year if you're interested. And campaign group For Women Scotland raised the hundreds of thousands of pounds required to take their case about sex and gender to the Supreme Court through an online appeal. Apart from a very generous donation of £70,000 from Edinburgh author and philanthropist, JK Rowling, FWS reached their ambitious target from hundreds of modest donations. In these hard-pressed times, why shouldn't the council try to raise some extra money for special projects. The question is what is a 'special project'? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I doubt if anyone would want to give the council any money for lawyers' fees or an advertising campaign, but people may be prepared to stump up for improvements to their local play park, to buy books for their neighbourhood library or even help meet the cost of major works like the refurbishment of the King's Theatre. The council could even run a competition in the Evening News to see what project residents wanted to support. It would certainly be a lot more fun than the dull but worthy consultations that usually come out of the City Chambers. To get things started, I would like to suggest that if Cllr Younie's idea becomes a reality, the council's first crowdfunder should be to commission artwork in honour of For Women Scotland, whose grit and determination resulted in the historic Supreme Court ruling last month. Never in recent history have a group of 'ordinary' women made such an impact on the legal and political landscape. Two of the directors, Susan Smith and Marion Calder, are Edinburgh residents, and while the third, Trina Budge, lives in Caithness, she is a graduate of Heriot Watt University. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad No statue could properly capture the energy and vibrancy of the magnificent trio, but a specially commissioned portrait might. I can just see one hanging in the National Portrait Gallery alongside other city luminaries such as Sir Ian Rankin, with a plaque saying: 'For Women Scotland – Feminist Legends. Commissioned by Edinburgh City Council with funds raised by the people of Edinburgh'. I am sure Cllr Staniforth would be delighted if his support for a people's fundraiser resulted in such a great outcome.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Call for rich Edinburgh residents to fund city projects
Wealthy Edinburgh residents could be asked to help pay for projects around the city after councillors agreed to look into setting up a fundraising proposal was brought forward by Liberal Democrat Lewis Younie, who highlighted frustration at delays to major projects through lack of highlighted Edinburgh's "fantastic record of philanthropy and generosity among its residents, right across the city".Council officials will now investigate how a fundraising team to support specific council projects might work. Donors would have their names on a plaque on a statue or entrance to a park they had helped his motion to members of the finance and resources committee on Tuesday, Mr Younie said: "I think we have a very generously minded citizenry, we have people who would want to contribute to making the city a better place to live."Conservative councillor Phil Doggart took issue with the proposal, suggesting it could be seen as an attempt by councillors to avoid taking "hard decisions" around which projects to fund."I was surprised when I read this motion," he said. "It looks like the Lib Dems will do anything to avoid hard decisions."If I was a philanthropist looking to do something for the good of the city I would just go ahead and do it, rather than handing over my money to an organisation which could be seen as not massively efficient."There are plenty of philanthropists already around the city and it's quite strange that we would go to try and get them to give money to this organisation, where they would then lose control of the project."This motion is unnecessary, it is abdicating our responsibility on this committee, and that is why we are opposing it." Crowd funding The proposal was backed by Green councillor Alex Staniforth, who said: "Very often you have a number of people who have a little bit of money to spare who would like to put it towards their community."This idea would allow us to facilitate people who want to collectively put their money towards the benefit of the city. Crowd funding rather than a single philanthropist."I think this would allow people to invest in their communities and is worth supporting."Mandy Watt, committee convenor, said she felt there was "no harm in asking" for a report on the a vote councillors agreed to pass the motion 9 votes to 2.A report on the possibility of a fundraising team is now set to be prepared for a future meeting of the by local democracy journalist Joe Sullivan.
STV News
30-04-2025
- Business
- STV News
Residents could be asked to fund city projects as part of 'fundraising team'
Wealthy Edinburgh residents could be asked to chip in more money to help with projects around the city, after councillors agreed to look into setting up a fundraising team. The proposal was brought forward by Liberal Democrat councillor Lewis Younie, who highlighted frustration at major projects aimed at improving the city for residents, often being delayed or scrapped due to a lack of funds. And he highlighted Edinburgh's 'fantastic record of philanthropy and generosity among its residents, right across the city', as he urged colleagues to support investigating the formation of a fundraising team. Council officials have now been tasked with bringing back a report on how 'a fundraising team to support specific council projects' might work, and how it could be organised. Introducing his motion to members of the Finance and Resources Committee on Tuesday, Cllr Younie said: 'I think we have a very generously minded citizenry, we have people who would want to contribute to making the city a better place to live.' Conservative councillor Phil Doggart took issue with the proposal, suggesting it could be seen as an attempt by councillors to avoid taking 'hard decisions' around which projects to fund. In an amendment opposing the motion, he warned that 'the increase in costs imposed by the UK government and the ongoing underfunding from the Scottish Government has left the City of Edinburgh Council with difficult decisions to take.' And he said they must 'recognise that if council has inadequate resources, elected members must take those decisions required to close the funding gap by concentrating on priority deliverables.' 'I was surprised when I read this motion,' he said. 'It looks like the Lib Dems will do anything to avoid hard decisions. 'If I was a philanthropist looking to do something for the good of the city I would just go ahead and do it, rather than handing over my money to an organisation which could be seen as not massively efficient. 'There are plenty of philanthropists already around the city and it's quite strange that we would go to try and get them to give money to this organisation, where they would then lose control of the project. 'This motion is unnecessary, it is abdicating our responsibility on this committee, and that is why we are opposing it.' The proposal was backed by Green councillor Alex Staniforth, who said: 'If you look at the statue of Adam Smith outside [the city chambers] the plaque on the back is just a list of the people who paid for the statue, which I think is what he would have wanted. But the point is, it's a list of people. 'Very often, you have a number of people who have a little bit of money to spare who would like to put it towards their community. This idea would allow us to facilitate people who want to collectively put their money towards the benefit of the city. Crowdfunding rather than a single philanthropist. 'I think this would allow people to invest in their communities and is worth supporting.' Committee convenor Cllr Mandy Watt said she felt there was 'no harm in asking' for a report on the proposal, and joked 'you can never have too many statues of Adam Smith'. After a vote councillors agreed to pass the motion 9 votes to 2. Part of Cllr Doggart's amendment, asking that the council 'recognises the role played by the private sector in supporting projects around the city for the good of all the city' was accepted. A report on the possibility of a fundraising team is now set to be prepared for a future meeting of the committee. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Edinburgh Reporter
29-04-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Wealthy Edinburgh residents could be asked to chip in to help with city projects
Wealthy Edinburgh residents could be asked to chip in more money to help with projects around the city, after councillors agreed to look into setting up a fundraising team. The proposal brought forward by Liberal Democrat councillor Lewis Younie, who highlighted frustration at major projects aimed at improving the city for residents, often being delayed or scrapped due to a lack of funds. And he highlighted Edinburgh's 'fantastic record of philanthropy and generosity among its residents, right across the city', as he urged colleagues to support investigating the formation of a fundraising team. Council officials have now been tasked with bringing back a report on how 'a fundraising team to support specific council projects' might work, and how it could be organised. Introducing his motion to members of the Finance and Resources Committee on Tuesday, Cllr Younie said: 'I think we have a very generously minded citizenry, we have people who would want to contribute to making the city a better place to live.' Conservative councillor Phil Doggart took issue with the proposal, suggesting it could be seen as an attempt by councilors to avoid taking 'hard decisions' around which projects to fund. In an amendment opposing the motion he warned that 'the increase in costs imposed by the UK government and the on-going underfunding from the Scottish Government has left City of Edinburgh Council with difficult decisions to take.' And he said they must 'recognise that if Council has inadequate resources, elected members must take those decisions required to close the funding gap by concentrating on priority deliverables.' 'I was surprised when I read this motion,' he said. 'It looks like the Lib Dems will do anything to avoid hard decisions. 'If I was a philanthropist looking to do something for the good of the city I would just go ahead and do it, rather than handing over my money to an organisation which could be seen as not massively efficient. 'There are plenty of philanthropists already around the city and it's quite strange that we would go to try and get them to give money to this organisation, where they would then lose control of the project. 'This motion is unnecessary, it is abdicating our responsibility on this committee, and that is why we are opposing it.' The proposal was backed by Green councillor Alex Staniforth, who said: 'If you look at the statue of Adam Smith outside [the city chambers] the plaque on the back is just a list of the people who paid for the statue, which I think is what he would have wanted. But the point is, it's a list of people. 'Very often you have a number of people who have a little bit of money to spare who would like to put it towards their community. This idea would allow us to facilitate people who want to collectively put their money towards the benefit of the city. Crowd funding rather than a single philanthropist. 'I think this would allow people to invest in their communities and is worth supporting.' Committee convenor Cllr Mandy Watt said she felt there was 'no harm in asking' for a report on the proposal, and joked 'you can never have too many statues of Adam Smith'. After a vote councillors agreed to pass the motion 9 votes to 2. Part of Cllr Doggart's amendment, asking that the council 'recognises the role played by the private sector in supporting projects around the city for the good of all the city' was accepted. A report on the possibility of a fundraising team is now set to be prepared for a future meeting of the committee. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
