Local MSP Craig Hoy has attended a Holyrood meeting of community councils from across Scotland where a unified statement calling for a moratorium on energy projects was discussed by stakeholders and MSPs.
Mr Hoy, the Moffat-based Conservative candidate for Dumfriesshire, last year called on the First Minister to back his demand for a moratorium on all onshore renewables.
Speaking at the roundtable event, Mr Hoy gave his full support to the unified statement and backed wider calls for action on damaging wind, solar, battery and pylon development.
He also gave a cast-iron commitment to support a joint statement covering the South of Scotland, which is likely to be set out next month at meetings likely to take place in the Scottish Borders and Dumfriesshire.
The statement calls on the SNP Government to create a clear national energy policy, pause major energy applications until that plan exists and ensure that democratic consent and respect for local voices are at the forefront of all applications.
Speaking after the event, Mr Hoy said: "I am pleased that there is a unity among many of Scotland’s community councils that their voice and the voice of local residents is the most important thing when it comes to energy applications.
“I have been campaigning on this issue and have called for an immediate moratorium on large scale energy projects until there is a clear strategy in place to make sure residents are not worn down by repeated applications from giant energy companies.
“The industrialisation of our countryside cannot be allowed to happen, and we need an energy plan that incorporates new nuclear and other clean energy sources, as well as harnessing Scotland’s renewable energy in a sympathetic manner.”
