YOUR VIEWS: An Camas Mor is a prime example of housing policy failure
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Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes understates the problem when she asks ‘why can it take between seven and 10 years to get six houses built’.
She might instead have used as a case study the lack of progress on the An Camas Mor proposals first made almost 25 years ago for a sister community on the edge of Aviemore.
Here the issue is not a shortage of land, the need for land reform, or an unwilling landowner, but the institutional difficulty in Badenoch and Strathspey of getting anything done which needs planning permission where there are strong opposing vested minority interests which can over ride the common good.
An Camas Mor was first suggested by the Aviemore Community Council in 1989, supported by local business, and adopted after inquiry in the Local Plan in 1996.
Planning permission in principle was issued by the Cairngorms National Park Authority in 2014, almost 10 years ago and 25 years after the proposal was first made
To mitigate if not solve the housing crisis something must be done to strike a better balance between sectional interest and community benefit.
Would that our devolved government could exercise its powers to achieve this which, admittedly, the Westminster government has failed to do for England.
Scotland should show the way.
Peter Mackay
Kincraig.
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Lots of answers needed on ill-thought out short term let control control area
On December 1 the Court of Session ruled, insisting on retrospective planning for short term let operators who commenced prior to implementation of ‘controlled area’ was illegal.
So everyone in Badenoch and Strathspey has wrongly been asked to apply for planning because the controlled area here has not been implemented, once implemented only future holiday lets need to apply.
All licence applications held up awaiting planning grant are wrongly being so delayed
What about everybody’s planning fees and associated costs are they to be compensated?
What about those forced to sell perhaps at a loss because borrowing for short term let cannot be obtained or renewed because the lenders are insisting on licence and planning grant before lending – are they to be compensated?
What about those that thought they wouldn’t get granted as Edinburgh planning controlled area is refusing over 98 per cent so did not apply by the October 1 deadline locally and now can’t trade till apply and have granted? Are they to be compensated?
What if they have sold at a loss, given up a perfectly good income – maybe an essential part of their pension – wrongly believing the council could lawfully refuse. Are they to be compensated?
What about the needless mental stress and health issues caused by this incompetent mess?
What about the damage needlessly inflicted on our local economy?
Gordon Thomson
Kingussie.
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Answers please on 'boiling' earth
I trust Mr Dermot Williamson’s lecture in Grantown gives a broader picture of opinions and scientific evidence on alleged man made global warming than his narrow minded, standard, Strathy messages (November 30).
I would be grateful for his answers to the following:
• Are recent adverse weather events more frequent or more severe than those in the historic weather/climate record?
• Is there any evidence to support decarbonisation as the means to offset adverse global weather/climate developments?
• Have the previous 27 COP climate conferences led to international agreement and action on measures to combat world climate changes?
• Should we in the UK, with around one per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases emissions be affording at least £3 trillion for net zero by AD2050?
n Are the fears of a presently ‘boiling’ Earth backed by any scientific evidence ?
The answer to all five questions is no!
Mr Williamson, in his future public addresses, must answer these points and questions or his mind will fairly be judged to be closed.
Charles Wardrop
Perth.
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Lighting up town with Chrtistmas cheer
Through your letters page I would like to congratulate the Grantown Festive Lights Committee and their dedicated team of volunteers who have once again given up their free time to provide our town with another breathtaking Christmas Lights Display in the Square and along the length of our Main Street.
This display will give immense pleasure to locals and visitors alike and without doubt further enhances the attraction of our friendly town.
Thank you all for your efforts.
Ian Maclean
Grantown.
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‘Never again’ applies as much now as then
The ‘Atrocities letter’ in the edition of December 6 mentions the alleged carpet bombing of Gaza by Israel and plays very loosely with facts.
The term carpet bombing was used to describe the Bomber Harris’s vision of 300+ aircraft of RAF and USAF Bomber Commands bombing of Germany and Japan in the latter part of World War II.
In these carpet bombings anywhere between 50,000 and 80,000 civilians were estimated to have died in one night (Hamburg, Dresden and Tokyo).
To suggest the Israeli approach to minimising damage and death in Gaza is akin to carpet bombing is, in my humble opinion, an untruth of major proportions.
We appear to be barraged by an interpretation of events clearly suited to select the odd fact and ignore others.
Sadly Hamas wishes to kill all Jews in Israel – it’s in their founding document as a goal.
Ironically this reminds me of similar founding document of sorts known as Mein Kampf; you may have heard of it, as well as the outcome of this hate-filled diatribe.
Hate appears easier to maintain as a belief than love it seems clear to me.
There are many facts which aren’t pretty in this ongoing war, starting with Hamas knowing full well that their October 7th operation would unleash another war which the UN would most likely not allow Israel to win and by default provide Hamas with yet another moral victory and the ability to forget who started this round or conflict.
The West’s new-found zealous desire to destroy the only democracy in the Middle East by ignoring the history of the region and its post British mandate territory and using this skewed interpretation to eventually have the capitals of Europe, the USA, Australia etc see marches in support of Hamas would have Hitler and his cronies grinning with pure delight if they were still alive.
As the Jews said after the Holocaust “Never again,” and this applies to now, no matter what the insanely daft social media may tell you.
The pro Hamas position and repetitive claims reminds me of one Josef Goebbels who said that if you repeat a lie often enough people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it.
We’re seeing this every day and in many different ways, our fawning BBC TV may also have taken up this position, it appears.
My gut feel is that if the people of Gaza (now referred to as Palestinians) had not allowed Hamas only one democratic election in 2006 and allowed them, in the 17 intervening years, not a vote of note while spending vast amounts of Arab aid to arm themselves for offensive action aimed at bolstering their anti-Semitic and Anti-Zionistic goals, may well have done way better than under the yoke of the ever more virulent Hamas.
In reality the Arab nations have no time for the Palestinians while happily using them in their proxy war on Israel.
The roots of the ‘Palestinian problem’ was the deliberate result of the defeated Arab nations needing a pawn after their failed mass invasion of Israel in 1948.
These unfortunate pawns would become refugees and then Palestinians and required to sustain the aim of bringing down Israel.
And Hamas does abuse them ever so much; my heart goes out to them.
I presume all Hamas supporters are also happy that a Hamas leader appears to live safely on benefits in London and presumable is or was on board with their plans.
Aldous Huxley and George Orwell really would wonder how they got it so largely right between the two of them I suspect.
Paul Aarden
Aviemore.
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A gnawing problem?
I was shocked to see the extent of the tree damage made by beavers at Gleneagles last week.
They are having to net the trunks. Beware of what could happen to the banks of the River Spey!
Janet King
Dulnain Bridge.
