Greens Pledge To Tackle Development Injustice
The Scottish Greens pledged to tackle the injustice of developments imposed on communities.
To highlight the party's commitment to community-led planning, Sarah Beattie-Smith, Infrastructure spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP candidate for South of Scotland, joined campaigners in East Lothian battling to acquire land at the site of the former Cockenzie coal power station.
A community bid was rejected by the Scottish Government, prompting local campaigners to lodge an appeal at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, due to be heard next month.
Sarah said: "The battle over the land around the former Cockenzie coal power station has become a symbol for the unfair fight going on in communities across Scotland. Community aspirations are crushed when development should be shaped by local views from outset. Ill-prepared and weak-willed authorities have not helped these situations.
"The Scottish Greens worked hard in the last session of parliament to make land ownership more accountable, and a larger group of Green MSPs will take this campaign forward. Communities should know who owns the land around them and should be listened to when proposals for development are discussed.
"Greens support equal right of appeal when development proposals don’t follow the agreed plan. This will remove a clear injustice in the system and promote development in the public interest. We want to unlock the power in our communities and prevent the kind of stressful and costly situations such as the one at Cockenzie."