UKC

Jamie Stone, MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has met the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms, to ask him to suspend the geographical target for the Shared Rural Network. It's something that conservationists and local communities have also been calling for.

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Good news today from Cairngorm National Park that the applicant has withdrawn their application to put a mast near Ryvoan bothy Glenmore. 
It was to go before the planning committee on 13th Dec, there were in excess of 500 objections.

That's great news.

I do fear for all the less-well-known but equally worth-saving locations that are not going to attract that much attention.

If the hills were re-forested back to how they once were people wouldn't see the masts until 50m from them. We have very precise views of what type of 'wilderness' is worth saving. 

I think it's possible to understand the history of the landscape and appreciate it nonetheless on multiple levels.

Should the hills be more wooded - yes.

Should we celebrate some of the qualities that we currently have, I think yes. To me that doesn't mean we should inhibit woodland for the sake of the view.

I can take joy in the regen that I see in many parts of the highlands whilst still enjoy the landscape as it is at the moment. If future generations have more afforested hills they will no doubt enjoy it as it will be what they are used to and I imagine it will be special but in a different way.

For me understanding what we have and what we could have doesn't mean that we should just allow whatever to take place as they are modified landscapes and aren't truly wild. This seems a very depressing argument to me personally albeit logical.

Truly wild they are not but appreciated they are, for many they clearly have qualities that we don't get elsewhere and that's worth something....

Thanks, PLM

A reminder that the “contact emergency services in the hills” argument for these is weakening by the month.

My handset - over a year old - can send emergency text messages by satellite from anywhere in the highlands, and the US has become the first country to greenlight orbital provision of mobile services to any reasonably new cell phone.  SMS launch this year, text and data next year.  Already temporarily deployed and used in the wake of recent US hurricanes, giving better availability in a crisis than terrestrial infrastructure.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/fcc-approves-starlink-plan-for-...

The remote towers, the gaping sores of their access tracks, their filthy diesel generators and the regular diesel powered shipments of diesel fuel to them are going to be irrelevant before long.

yes, but in the meantime, before the trees grow, what's the sense of bulldozing the glens for nothing?

Given the length of time it would take for trees to grow and the relative immediacy of the threat posed by the proposed masts, that doesn't not seem to me to be a very helpful comment. You may have very precise views as to the type of wilderness to be preserved, but not everyone will share those views. A lot more work is needed to determine appropriate rewilding, which will almost invariably be location-specific. 

The area is littered with forest tracks already, including a loop which goes right by the bothy from the Lodge, I presume you knew this, but I bet many grumbling don't. I agree with preserving nature, wilderness etc but we need to look forward too. The uk has become experts in creating excuses for why we do nothing. 

There are roads there already. Make it a condition of planning that they bury an electric supply up the forest track, perhaps put in a condiut to blow fibre through for locals it passes (glenmore lodge) and plant x number of trees (with deer fences). Move forwards, whilst improving and storm proofing life for Glenmore residents & businesses, in return for a mast that all will directly or indirectly benefit from. These big companies can afford it. 

All that would be great but also never going to happen in the current box-ticking exercise. It's got nothing to do with actually helping local communities - just colouring in space on a big map with no regard to what's actually there (or not).

On the future Galloway NP thread, people were saying how well existing Scottish NPs were managed. CNPA you'd hope would take a range of opinions. 

Sadly a lot of land management is done from the office, in the days before satellites, lidar mapping etc at least people were forced out to physically view the ground. 

I'd wager that many of those objecting to these masts are also in favour of restoring our upland ecosystems. And regardless of whether or not the mast is visually hidden by trees - you'd still hear/smell the diesel generator chugging away.

This is an easily solved problem in many locations, obviously buried cabling isn't free, but it's a better long term solution. We should be thinking about how we want infrastructure to be overall in 20 or 30 years, not just the cheapest option solving only the easiest immediate problem. Maybe the mast locations should factor in buried power supply in their planning phase. 

Some will say satellite comms, but apart from the fact many owned by unreliable people like Elon, we shouldn't be totally dependent on infrastructure we don't control, can be destroyed, hacked, damaged by natural events etc..

It's also so emergency services can talk to emergency services - if EE/BT are putting up a mast for ESN, makes sense they will put up SRN capacity?

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366599992/BT-EE-win-emergency-services-...

https://business.ee.co.uk/large-business/esn/

They do seem to be using satellites to fill some gaps, hopefully not relying on the benevolent musk at all...

Masts need building and servicing, therefore access roads up hills.

It would probably make more sense to consider how to protect precious wilderness areas rather than suspending a target whch has yet to fully deliver for far more pipulated areas in other parts of the UK.

Or am I being naive when I expect a bit of thought and finesse from our politicians?

Its only easy if the government want to spaff vast quantities of taxpayers money at a non problem. The locations where many of these masts are proposed would result in seven figure connection costs for a single mast. Not to mention the damage associated with cabling works required for several Kms. All for a mast in an area which has no domestic property? Diesel generation is the only way the cost looks vaguely reasonable (some of them appear to be using some renewables as well).

I do think its important to leave some places wild and free from the intrusion of modern day life. I accept that means there is more danger in going to these wild places but that is what draws me to them.