KCC 16 Sept Minutes : Useful Gadgets : Gala BBQ & Events

KCC 16 Sept Minutes

Useful Gadgets

Saturday 26th 

4.30pm-9.30pm Kirkton village Hall 

Installation of shepherd 4.30pm -Hayden Clark

Kids entertainment with magician

Bottle stall

Guess sweets in jar

Raffle

Tea coffee cake 

Barbecue, bar and disco!!!! 

Pass the word!!! 

Thanks Vicki 

Anyone wishing to donate a Raffle Prize can drop it off at Vicki's or contact kirkmahoe@gmail.com to find out where you can leave it.

EU Energy Union

European Commission proposals for an Energy Union include a target for 10% interconnection of electricity grids across borders. The EU executive estimates that about €105 billion are required to upgrade Europe’s ageing electricity infrastructure, with €35 billion needed for cross-border interconnections alone.

Interconnectivity – of both gas and electricity grids – is seen as a key for EU member states to wean off their dependence on Russian gas and manage higher shares of variable renewable energy sources.

But the objective, initially decided in 2002, has remained elusive because of entrenched national interests. Twelve EU countries, mainly located on the EU’s periphery, remain below the 10% target. These are:

• Ireland (9%)
• Italy, Romania, Portugal (7%)
• Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia (4%)
• The United Kingdom (6%)
• Spain (3%)
• Poland (2%)
• Cyprus and Malta (0%)

Special priority will be given to projects that will “significantly increase the current interconnection capacity where it is well below the established 10% objective,” the Commission said, citing Spain and Cyprus as countries where “efforts need to be stepped up”. An existing list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) will be updated in Autumn 2015.

If everything goes according to plan, some 75% of PCIs are expected to be completed by 2020.

Links

http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/energy-union/docs/energyunion-annex_en.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/infrastructure/transparency_platform/map-viewer/

Social Club : Quiz Night

Register to vote link

Register to vote

We are the poor relations here. We get pylons

It is amazing what can happen in Europe. We appear to be the poor relations.Read about it here 

http://www.euractiv.com/…/work-begins-french-italy-power-in…

Work begins on French-Italy power interconnector

French power grid operator RTE has started work on a new 190 km power interconnection across the Alps to Italy, in an effort to ease congestion on the existing lines to the largest importer of French electricity.

EURACTIV.COM

5 Quarries planned by SPEN

5 Quarries Planned by SPEN

Further desecration of our beautiful unspoiled area by SPEN

Kirkmahoe Gala and BBQ

KCC Minutes July 2015 KCC Agenda September 2015

KCC Minutes July 2015

KCC Agenda September 2015

The Long View by local poet Donald Adamson

THE LONG VIEW

by award winning poet Donald Adamson

Necessary. Of it they are certain –
the economists, the experts
sent from Edinburgh, London, God-Knows-Where,
the ones who judge a view
by how to make it pay, be cost effective.

They’ve had their say. Let others have it now:
people who know of things
that must not be exchanged
for silvery incentives, Judas coins –
not sold at any price –

who know by seeing, being,
and having lived their days
in an unhurrying land, that beauty
changed into something ugly, ruined, defaced,
makes all else worthless –

know this most of all
by wisdom gained from glens and hills and moors,
coastlines and skies
and landscapes that invite
to stay, and think, and gaze on far horizons.

copyright reserved.

Get the wine out to attract giant moths to your garden

Invasion of the giant MOTHS: Palm-sized insects are flocking to the UK - and you can attract them to your garden with tobacco and wine

This sounds interesting. We came across an article about this Here is the link
Unusual Moths seen in UK

Pictures below come from Daily Mail article

Street Party BBQ Saturday

Another press link click on picture

Press articles from the Courier

Pylons Community Councils go to SPEN

https://www.dropbox.com/…/pylonsCCs%20go%20to%20SPEN%20%281…

Pylons Press article from the Courier

https://www.dropbox.com/…/Pylons%20letter%20from%20Barbara%…

Kirkton Hall Bingo Friday 4th Sept

Family prize bingo - Friday 4th September 2016

Doors open 7pm, eyes down 7.30pm

Border TV News, thoughts BBC links, Meetings

Yesterday we saw the protesters in Dunscore on TV. They showed the countryside, had an interview with Alan Jones, A Dunscore CC member and another interview with a SPEN rep. The main gist of this was still taking the SPEN mantra that they need to upgrade the lines.When the energy they are going to carry is all for export to the rest of UK and of no benefit other than being eyesores health hazards, and killers of migrating birds,to people in the areas affected, was not apparent in the interview.

Link to Border News  Unfortunately we do not have the actual clip to show you if you missed it.

A much more favourable article from the BBC can be seen on this link. They have got the idea.

SPEN and Stakeholders Group

It seems that SPEN has formed a Stakeholders Group. Not one representative from any of the areas to be affected, is a member of this group. Nice one SPEN

The Stakeholder Liaison Group is chaired by the Scottish Government and membership of the group includes:

SPEN

South Ayrshire Council

Dumfries & Galloway Council

Cumbria County Council

Carlisle City Council

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)

Natural England

Historic Scotland

English Heritage

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Environment Agency

It is envisaged that throughout the lifecycle  of the project other relevant stakeholder organisations will join the group as required. The Stakeholder Group has met on three occasions to date. The last meeting took place 29^th April 2015.

Neither Kirkmahoe CC, nor any other, appears to have been informed about these meetings, nor given any advanced warning of SPEN's plans.   

Get mad folks, get really mad. We need to do everything we can to stop this being decided above our heads, by people who think they know what is best for us. Sign our petition if you have not already done so the more signatures we have the better. Ask your friends to sign it as well

ITV Border Coverage of our Campaign against Pylons 6pm this evening Watch

Dear Kirkmahoe resident

ITV Border News interviewed some Dunscore residents this morning and the interview is expected to be broadcast an Border News at 6pm this evening. There were also some photographers from the Standard, so there may also be an article there later this week.

The 38 degrees online petition now has over 2,000 signatures, with names being added most days, so please keep levels of awareness high among your family and friends to ensure we keep this petition alive and growing. There is of course no time limit to this online petition and we expect to keep it going for the duration of the campaign against pylons. I’ve attached the link again below. 

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-dumfries-galloway-pylons

If you have already written to our local representatives such as MPs, MSPs and Councillors you will no doubt have started to receive their replies. Some are obviously more positive than others. We are a small population in this area of SW Scotland likely to be affected by the pylons, and we will obviously need to be punching well above our weight in this battle. Achieving maximum possible  support from our local representatives would be invaluable to us, so if you have not yet managed to get a letter or email away to MPs, MSPs and Councillors, please try to find a little time to lodge your objections with them as soon as you can. There is no time limit for contacting local representatives, but obviously it will be helpful if they have as many comments from local residents as possible during this first stage of the campaign.

The replies from some local councillors and MSPs have been encouraging, and if we can maintain a flow of objections and comments to them that should keep the matter high on their agenda. All the relevant email addresses are on the link below. Click on “contacting local representatives" at the top and just cut and paste the addresses onto your email. 

http://dumgalagainstpylons.org

Carol

Stakeholder Liaison Group

As my earlier letter states the process is at the earliest stages and there will be no live application for Scottish Ministers to consider until 2019 at the earliest.  The Stakeholder Liaison Group is chaired by the Scottish Government and membership of the group includes:

SPEN

South Ayrshire Council

Dumfries & Galloway Council

Cumbria County Council

Carlisle City Council

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)

Natural England

Historic Scotland

English Heritage

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Environment Agency

It is envisaged that throughout the lifecycle of the project other relevant stakeholder organisations will join the group as required. The Stakeholder Group has met on three occasions to date. The last meeting took place 29^th April 2015.

Marian McSeveney 

Comment plenty of Councils and groups here. Where are local residents' representatives?

Reply from the Scottish Government

31 August 2015
Dear Mr Howdle
Thank your email of 25th of August to Dr Aileen McLeod concerning the Dumfries and Galloway
Strategic Wider Works and its impact on the landscape. I work in the Energy Markets team at
the Scottish Government and have been asked to respond on her behalf.
Transmission Owners, SHE-Transmission and Scottish Power Transmission in Scotland, have a
duty to develop and maintain an efficient, co-ordinated and economical transmission network
and it is for a them to decide when it is the right time to initiate Strategic Wider Works.
It is however for the regulator Ofgem to make a decision on whether proposed transmission
upgrades like the Dumfries and Galloway proposals will enable construction of the correct
infrastructure at the right time, and establish if electricity generators are sufficiently committed to
the projects that would connect to the upgrade. We expect Ofgem will take a robust approach in
assessing whether Scottish Power’s plans are justified, economical and in the interests of
consumers.
Scottish Power Energy Networks(SPEN) have yet to submit an application or ‘needs case’ to
Ofgem for the Dumfries and Galloway Strategic Reinforcement, although they are going through
the first phase of public consultation with residents and stakeholders potentially affected by the
proposals.
SPEN will undertake a further two stages of consultation and do not expect to make an
application to Scottish Ministers for the erection of overhead lines until 2019. A Stakeholder
Liaison Group, chaired by the Scottish Government, has been formed to provide a forum for
considering the planning, environmental, cultural and natural heritage issues that will arise from
the proposal, and a final decision will be made following a robust consultative process in line with
all legal and planning obligations.
I hope this is helpful in addressing your concerns.
Marian McSeveney

Comment:- Can anyone see where it says anything about exporting electricity to the rest of UK as the reason for having these pylons???????

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