Campbeltown Courier - Letters to the Editor 31.1.25

When wind farms become obsolete, as they will in time, will we see a rush to ensure all the remnants, including the concrete bases, are removed from the moors? Of course not. We will be fortunate if the actual towers and blades are taken away. 

Kintyre doesn’t matter to those in power at Holyrood, which is why it would be a complete waste of time contacting Jenni Minto or our MP, Brendan O’Hara, for any help in these matters; both have to toe the party line on wind farms.

Brian Gee, Carradale East.

Visitor levy

Argyll and Bute Council has stated that tourist footfall may reduce if the proposed visitor levy goes ahead, and that some businesses may close as a result. 

The council has also explained that the possible benefits of the levy could include better step ashore facilities, spreading tourists across the destination, and improving visitor toilets.

There appears to be an imbalance in the council’s obvious enthusiasm for the levy and the meagre potential benefits of the levy compared to its potential disadvantages. 

With this in mind, after I read an opinion that the council was more concerned with its own budget than anything else, given that, and as reported by West Coast Today, nearly half of all council tax raised goes to paying council pension contributions, I contacted the council about the matter.

I received no response, and instead the council tried to convince me that Argyll and Bute, a local authority area of Scotland with a population of 880,000 should have a levy because the council thought it was like the Caribbean, which has a population of 44 million people living in 13 independent countries and other political units, some of which impose a small tax on international tourists.

The council has stated in its levy publicity that my voice matters to them. Well my voice says that someone from the council should take responsibility for this whole biased shambles of a pretence of a levy consultation...and resign. 

Unless and until this happens, like many others, I suspect, I will continue to have no confidence in the council.

Roderick MacLeod, Seil Island.