I have received information regarding the amicable buy-out of the Pairc estate, which was agreed to at a public meeting last Thursday
(21st). One line stood out like a sore thumb.
The present Landlord will only consider the amicable
purchase of the estate providing he will still benefit from any wind
farm development post purchase, as if he was still the Landlord.
There is an interposed lease between PRL (Pairc Renewables Ltd) and
SSE regarding the proposed windfarm. The SSE part has been taken over
by the neighbouring Eishken Estate. Do not forget, in this context,
that the Eishken Estate already has a windfarm (Muaitheabhal) ready to
be constructed. They now stand to gain even more, once the Pairc
Windfarm is up and running.
The outgoing Landlord will receive the same income from the
26-turbine windfarm as the Pairc Trust, namely £330,000 per annum. In
spite of the fact, that (as outlined above) he no longer owns any land.
£330,000 is not a small amount of money for you and me, but actually
only amounts to £1,000 per person per year. That won’t go awfully far
if we’re talking about economic regeneration. Two individuals will
become very rich, gaining £8.4m over the 25-year lifespan of the
project.
There are currently only 26 windturbines in the planning, but if the
community wants more (thereby increasing their revenue), they can get
more.
This is all depending on the construction of the interconnector (the
sub-sea high-voltage electricity cable to the mainland). I am told
informally that this is a done deal.
I feel, very strongly, that the people of Pairc have been sold down
the river for a chest of beads and mirrors. How on earth, after all
these years of obstruction, divide & rule and non-cooperation from
the Landlord, could people acquiesce to such terms?
