Friday 1 January 2010

SPSO Planning leaflets

In case you were not aware of these items:

Planning Leaflet (objectors)

Planning Leaflet (applicants)

These seem to have been undated last September

Latest recycling service - not quite 'planning' but useful nonetheless


APTSec has just discovered this on The Highland Council web pages:

"Do you have an electrical item that’s lost its spark? By the end of January 2010 facilities will be in place at Recycling Centres across Highland to recycle all waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

Householders in Highland will be able to recycle any electrical item with a plug attached, or items operated by a battery. This includes everything from small items such as hairdryers, DVD players and battery operated toys to large items such as fridges, freezers, washing machines and televisions. It also includes fluorescent light tubes, standard light bulbs and energy efficient light bulbs.

Various containers will be on-site for the segregation of different types of WEEE, and trained site operatives will be on hand to assist, and ensure that items are placed in the correct containers. These facilities will help ensure that hazardous items are diverted from landfill and recyclable components are recovered."

For full item click here

Council calls for patience during wintry weather

A somewhat belated post on this:

"The Highland Council’s Convener Councillor Sandy Park is calling for patience when it comes to clearing Highland roads and pavements.

Since the recent wintry conditions have started the Council’s entire fleet of 114 road, and 54 pavement gritters and over 200 winter maintenance staff have been working flat out within the Council’s gritting policy to keep roads clear.

Councillor Park said: “We have the longest road network of any Council within Scotland and as such it is simply not possible to treat every road at the same time. 14% of Scotland’s roads are maintained by The Highland Council and we are responsible for 4,200 miles (6,700km) of roads. We therefore grit roads under a priority system which targets roads based on their local importance."

For full item click here

The Government's role in land use planning

"The primary responsibility for the operation of the planning system and service lies with local and national park authorities. They are best placed to make decisions about matters which affect their areas. But there can be some occasions when The Scottish Government will become involved in the planning application process. This circular explains the Government's role. "

Click here

The culture of planning

What do the Government planners think planning is about?

"Planning has an image of being a barrier to development: of having a culture that is too regulatory, too reactive, too slow and too technical.


The planning system manages development in the public interest. It is crucial to everyone's quality of life. To maximise it's impact it should be more efficient, more enabling, more facilitating and understandable to all.

High quality developments will make successful places that are attractive and efficient for residents, employers, visitors and which will contribute to the Scottish Government's core purpose of sustainable economic growth. The need for this focus is even more acute in the current economic climate"

Read more here

Now, what do we mean by public interest?

Saving money on fuel bills

Published on the Scottish Government web site on 28/12/09

"The Scottish Government is offering households free energy savings advice, access to cheaper energy tariffs and help to access all the benefits households are entitled to, through the £60 million Energy Assistance Package.


Households who call the free advice line - including families with young children, people on benefits and the elderly - can, if eligible, also be offered a range of free insulation and draft proofing measures as well as new heating systems.

Households who received help from the scheme in 2009 saved, on average, £780 on fuel bills.

The free phone advice line number is 0800 512 012 and is open all year round."

Did anyone see or hear any news items on this?

Smiling politcians

So, just how many photographs of smiling politicians can you fit into one glossy brochure?

Click here to find out

One quick question:

If you live in Scotland but are not Scottish, do you have any say in writing the script?

Sunday 27 December 2009

Confused about renewables: part 3, Wind Farms

The pros and cons of using renewables; where do we find simple, straightforward information?

Take wind power for instance; what do you feel about that?

APTSec read that on one weekend in November 2009, high winds supplied 53% of Spain's electricity

Here are a few links to some otherrecent items on the net:

An interesting piece by Maltese Politician, Dr Pullicino Orlando

If you like your figures then this item by the BBC's 'Ethical Man' may shed some light

An item from 'Oregon Environmental News'

If you like all things 'green' then try this page on wind farms on a site named 'Web Ecoist'

Can you recommend any interesting information or sites?

How important is location?

APTSec is keen to hear your views.