Montgomeryshire Assembly Member, Russell George, has asked the Minister for Government Business to set aside time in the Assembly’s schedule so that research on the impact of wind turbines on Welsh tourism can be fully debated.
The research which was commissioned by the Welsh Government last year, is due to be formally published this week. The research has examined the economic impact of wind farms and associated grid infrastructure on the tourism industry in Wales. The Government were encouraged to undertake this research by the National Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee, who made the recommendation during its inquiry into energy policy and planning in Wales back in 2012.
Commenting, Mr George said:
“We have been waiting a long time to see the findings of this research.
“When I asked the Firstly Minister about its proposed publication last autumn, he said it would be published by the end of 2013; which didn’t happen.
“Whatever the research findings are, it’s not acceptable for the Government to allow the publication of this report – paid for by public funds – to just slip under the radar; it requires scrutiny, it requires debate and I believe the Government should allocate appropriate time in its business schedule to allow AMs to do that.
“Given that just last week we had the release of survey evidence from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, stating that climbers and hill walkers were turning their backs on Scotland in their droves because of landscape despoilment due to turbines, the Minister for Natural Resources must be afforded the time to issue a formal oral statement on this issue to the National Assembly, so he can be properly held to account.”
