20 Jun 2025
The Scottish Highlands have long been celebrated for their rugged beauty, tranquil landscapes, and vibrant communities. Yet, in recent years, these communities have found themselves at the heart of a growing battle – one that pits environmental goals against the needs of local residents.
The issue? Large-scale energy infrastructure developments, including wind farms, pylons, substations, and more, all of which are rapidly altering the region’s character and way of life.
On 16 June, an event in Beauly brought together 53 community councils from across the Highlands, drawing nearly 300 attendees. The message was clear: community leaders urged elected officials to stand up for local interests at the national level. They warned that current consultation processes are deeply inadequate, with local decisions routinely overridden by the Scottish Government. The councils called for the establishment of a national planning enquiry commission to assess the cumulative impact of energy developments and demanded an immediate pause on all major applications until a coherent national energy policy and a comprehensive economic impact assessment are in place.
The turnout was a testament to the collective concern of local residents, who are seeing their landscapes transformed and their quality of life threatened by these industrial projects.
Central to this growing resistance is National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) – the Scottish Government’s overarching planning policy designed to drive development in line with national targets. While NPF4 claims to support sustainable development and net-zero goals, communities across Scotland are increasingly voicing concerns that it overrides local voices.
Highland community councils are not standing alone in their resistance. Across the Borders, councils, campaigners, and residents are questioning why NPF4 promotes vast infrastructure developments without properly considering regional cumulative impacts, environmental degradation, and community wellbeing.
So, what can we do? Here’s how we can follow their lead:
1. Organise and mobilise: Just as the Highlands rallied around their cause, Scottish Borders community councils could come together and form a unified front. A regional event, like the Beauly convention, could bring councils, residents, and stakeholders together to discuss shared concerns, share information, and draft a joint Borders-wide statement for our MSPs and MPs.
2. Engage local and national politicians: The Highland councils made clear demands to their elected officials: stand with your constituents, not just national targets. Borders councillors should be urged to advocate for our communities. It’s not enough to nod sympathetically – our representatives must actively challenge policies that put profit and production over people.
3. Demand meaningful consultation: One of the most resounding complaints from Highland councils was the lack of proper consultation – not just with the public, but even among local planning bodies. In the Borders, we need to call for full economic, environmental, and social impact assessments, and demand transparent, inclusive consultations before any major development moves forward.
4. Pause the projects: Like the Highlands, the Borders should call for a pause on all major energy and infrastructure applications until a coherent national energy policy is in place – one that balances climate goals with community needs, and reflects the realities of rural life, not just abstract national targets.
A leading Borders community councillor, John Williams, has called on communities across the South of Scotland to unite in a bid to prevent further damage to the historic Cheviot landscape from wind turbines and power lines.
John Williams, chair of Heriot Community Council, said: “Across Scotland, communities are waking up to the reality that NPF4 is not a tool for balanced progress – it’s a bulldozer for top-down, unchecked development. In the name of so-called green energy, we are being asked to sacrifice our cherished landscapes, our wildlife, and our rural heritage – often for projects that deliver no real benefit to the people who live here.
“The Highlands have shown us the power of unity and the strength of saying ‘enough is enough.’ Now it's our turn. Community councils across the Scottish Borders must rise to this challenge. If we don’t stand up now – loudly, clearly, and together – we will be steamrolled by policies that see rural Scotland as empty space, ripe for industrialisation.
This is our moment. We either protect our communities and our way of life, or we risk losing them forever.”
Let’s take inspiration from their success and start the conversation today. It’s time for the Scottish Borders to unite, stand firm, and ensure that we are not sacrificed in the rush to meet national energy targets.