Background
June 2025: A convention of more than 50 Highland community councils formally established the ‘Highland Unified Statement’, calling for a pause on large-scale renewable energy developments (click here for the Highland Statement).
December 2025: Several Angus and Aberdeenshire community councils agreed to develop a ‘North East Unified Statement’, reflecting the Highland community councils' approach.
January 2026: Around 40 community councils from Southern Scotland - Scottish Borders, East Lothian, Dumfries & Galloway, and Lanarkshire - met in Jedburgh to consider signing up to the ‘Highland Unified Statement’.
January 2026: East Lammermuir Community Council (ELCC) agreed that whilst the general thrust of both statements is acceptable, we have five comments:
- We support the Highland and North-East Scotland statements on “giving communities a stronger voice”.
- ‘The Highland Statement’ is weak on the urgency of taking climate action.
Not all political party representatives at the South of Scotland meeting were in favour of ‘net zero’. We therefore suggest a stronger opening sentence calling for action: “This Convention recognises the impact of climate change on our planet and the urgency of acting to address and mitigate that”.
- The Highland Statement is vague on major developments. There are currently four Data Centre planning applications in East Lothian that, if consented will drive demand for more and more electricity. Any Statement that ELCC signs needs to “explicitly include applications for Data Centres”.
- At present, wind farm operators receive taxpayers' money to switch off their turbines when energy production exceeds national grid transmission capacity, while gas-fired power stations are switched on near to where electricity is needed. This is called curtailment, and while energy production in Scotland is increasing, curtailment costs are spiralling (£1.5BN in 2025 according to the National Audit Office).
Upgrading the national grid to increase transmission capacity would minimise curtailment by allowing surplus energy to be moved around the UK to meet demand, while also allowing new green developments to connect to it.
Can we therefore legitimately seek to halt the upgrading of the national grid by signing the ‘Highland Statement’?
A recent article in ‘The Scotsman’ (click here for the Scotsman Article and here for the Key Takeaways) describes how The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is now managing reforms to grid connection queues, and intimates that the ‘Highland Statement’ is arguably out of date. We believe a more focussed ask excluding transmission proposals will be more meaningful, e.g. “This Convention Calls upon the Scottish Government to undertake a Planning Inquiry Commission of all major energy generation or storage infrastructure developments in the pipeline (to include data centres and major heat-producing industrial processes)”.
- The ‘Highland Statement’ is about stopping things. However, whether we like it or not, some of the current proposals in planning are going to get built. To date, renewable energy in Scotland has largely been developed – and owned - by private (and often overseas) interests, and we are in danger of repeating the mistakes made with North Sea oil - leaving very little legacy for Scotland, and a dependency on overseas actors for energy supply. To introduce some balance, ELCC feels the need to press for “stronger effective government action on shared ownership and community ownership”.
Based on these points, ELCC suggests a slightly different ‘South of Scotland’ statement should be put forward (click here for the South of Scotland Statement).
Your Participation Matters!
East Lammermuir Community Council wants to know which of these statements you support. We understand that you may want to support one, both, or neither.
ELCC can only speak for the community if it knows what the community thinks. A short confidential survey is the fastest way to make sure your views are heard by ELCC prior to a second ‘South of Scotland Convention’ meeting (date to be announced).
Every resident of East Lammermuir over the age of 16 can complete their own response to the questionnaire, and we want to hear from as many of you as possible, to make sure we understand the spread and balance of opinion.
Therefore, please answer the questions below as an individual - not a couple or household. Use a separate form each.
I you know someone who needs a hard copy of this survey to complete, please let us know at secretary@elcc.scot
Deadline: Please submit your response by 13 March 2026.