Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Official Report 1107KB pdf

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Just Transition for Torry

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-01071, in the name of Maggie Chapman, on a just transition for Torry. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

I invite members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request-to-speak button now or to type R in the chat function if they are joining us online.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament notes the reported proposals to re-zone St Fittick’s Park in Torry, Aberdeen, currently designated urban green space, and Doonies Rare Breeds Farm, currently part of the green belt, to facilitate port expansion as part of a larger industrialisation plan to create an energy transition zone; recognises what it sees as the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuels, but also what it considers the negative impacts that over-industrialisation can have on resident communities, such as poor air quality, loss of greenspace and various forms of pollution, including noise; believes that community green spaces are positive for mental wellbeing and people’s right to a healthy environment; appreciates the value of having an award-winning, biodiverse area of woodland, wetland and recreational grassland in these areas, which it understands experience multiple social deprivation; acknowledges the reported opposition to the re-zoning by the community in Torry, including the Friends of St Fittick’s Park campaign, on environmental justice and community wellbeing grounds; notes the view that these sites are valuable to the people and worthy of protection, and further notes the belief that their re-zoning is inappropriate.

18:14  

I thank Mercedes Villalba, Audrey Nicoll and the other MSPs who have supported the motion. I am very pleased to have lodged it, not just because it is my first ever members’ business motion, and the first Scottish Green Party members’ business debate in this session of Parliament, but because I think that it highlights so much of what we need to consider as we design and build a better, fairer and greener world.

The campaign to save St Fittick’s park and Doonies Farm speaks to fundamental issues of power and democracy, inequality and deprivation. It speaks to challenges to the status quo, to business as usual and to the neoliberal economic model that has created both the climate emergency and the nature emergency. In short, it speaks to the inextricable links between social, economic and environmental justice, and it is that interconnected understanding of what justice is that must be at the heart of a just transition—for Torry, for the north-east and for Scotland.

St Fittick’s community park, for those who do not know it, is an award-winning wetland and reedbeds in the south of Aberdeen. The brainchild of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as a way of making space for biodiversity and supporting local people, the park is a relatively small urban green space in Torry. The community neighbouring the park is one of the 10 most deprived in Scotland, with life expectancy 12 years lower than elsewhere in Aberdeen. Squished between industrial land and a sewage works, the park is the only accessible green space for that community. It is well loved and well used by people who live locally, mostly in tower blocks and flats.

Doonies Rare Breeds Farm, to give it its full name, is just a bit further down the coast road from St Fittick’s. It is nationally recognised, having one of Scotland’s largest collections of rare and endangered farm animal breeds. It is a favourite place for family days out, where children and young people can learn about farming, different animals and so much more.

Together, the two sites are the lungs of Torry. In stark contrast to the greyness of the heavy industry around them, including the current harbour development at Nigg Bay, St Fittick’s park and Doonies Farm are vibrant, varied places with a range of habitats, species, facilities and amenities for all to enjoy. St Fittick’s has what we might expect from a community park: play areas for children, a skate park and accessible paths for walking, wheeling and cycling. However, what makes it so special is that it also boasts areas of woodland, wet meadow, reedbed and diverse dry grasslands. Then there is the staggering biodiversity: more than 40 species of breeding birds, including nine red list species and eight amber list ones; more than 115 plant species, including a wonderful array of orchids; and hundreds of invertebrate species, many of which are still being documented. Also, as well as the great variety of dogs that have regular walks in the park, otters, deer and other mammals can be spotted in the reeds and woods. As we come into autumn, we will start to see some of the tens of thousands of migratory birds that stop over at those green spaces. Over the winter, we will see a substantial snipe population.

All the work that was done a decade ago by the Aberdeen ranger service and SEPA has really paid off. What was a polluted, poor-quality and inaccessible area is now an award-winning biodiverse wetland, which, just last year, won the biodiversity and climate change category in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature of Scotland awards.

There really is nowhere else like it in the city of Aberdeen. Why are we even contemplating destroying it? Because that is exactly what is happening. Aberdeen City Council has proposed rezoning those areas as “opportunity sites” for industrial development in the city’s new local development plan. Specifically, there are proposals for an energy transition zone—ETZ—to be sited on that urban green space and green-belt land. Their proximity to the south harbour development at Nigg, the sewage works and other encircling industrial estates means that developers such as Energy Transition Zone Ltd want to use the land for industrial purposes. That appears to be the settled will of the council, too.

Let me be clear: my opposition to the rezoning and development of both St Fittick’s community park and Doonies Farm in no way diminishes my passionate support for energy transition. I am, like everyone who is campaigning to save St Fittick’s park and Doonies Farm, only too aware of the need for an energy transition.

Torry, like other communities, has suffered as the oil and gas industry has declined. We understand that the climate emergency is affecting people and nature all over the world, but we also know that we can get the energy transition that we need without destroying valuable community green space. Other—brownfield—sites are available and other options possible. We must not concrete over the lungs of the community, which would result in poor air quality, pollution and noise, not to mention the loss of amenity and of valuable nature.

We know that we face a climate emergency and a nature emergency. The motion and the community campaign are clear that urgent action is needed, but we cannot tackle the climate emergency by compromising the health and wellbeing of biodiverse habitats. The health and wellbeing of communities, some living within metres of the proposed industry, would also be directly affected. We understand that climate justice cannot happen without environmental and social justice. Destroying nature cannot be the cornerstone of the energy transition we so desperately need.

We must encourage plans for the development of wind turbine manufacture, for a wind turbine parts assembly area and for de-commissioning. That work and the jobs that come with it are vital to our future. However, that work must be developed on sites that are not green spaces or in the green belt. Brownfield sites are available at east Tullos and Altens, which are less than a kilometre away and which have rail and road access.

The member mentions brownfield sites nearby. When we talk about the energy transition zone, we are often talking about large wind turbines. Would it be feasible for those to be transported to other sites half a mile from the harbour?

It would be absolutely feasible. The possible sites at east Tullos and Altens are on good road and rail links and are less than a kilometre away.

Such brownfield site development would also result in lower carbon emissions than ripping up wetlands, which we know act as carbon sinks.

Communities should be involved in decisions about the siting of such development. Their voices have yet not been heard, and that must change. If we are serious about a just transition underpinning Scotland’s future, we must not only recognise the connections between environmental, social and economic justice but act accordingly. Therefore, I ask the Scottish Government to listen to the people of Torry and to the experts at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, who support the aims of the campaign, and to make any Government support for the energy transition zone conditional on both the use of brownfield sites and on genuine community engagement. Only then can we deliver a just transition for Torry that is genuinely just.

18:23  

I thank Maggie Chapman for her motion and draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am a councillor for the Torry/Ferryhill ward in Aberdeen, within which St Fittick’s park is located. The park is also in my constituency. I support a just transition. We are at an urgent point with climate change.

St Fittick’s park, as Maggie Chapman said, is the mother ship of Torry. Generations of families have gone there to play, exercise or hit the reset button. It hosts cultural heritage and supports carbon sequestration and flood control. It is in an important local asset that has been restored and is valued by the community. The park is bounded by a harbour and an energy-from-waste plant, both of which are under construction, and a waste water plant. It is a precious green space for many.

In February 2020, St Fittick’s was included in the draft Aberdeen City local development plan, just weeks before the plan was approved, as an area supporting energy transition. I placed on record my support for an amendment proposing that the site be removed from the LDP and an alternative site found. The amendment was defeated in a vote. Literally hundreds of emails followed. Did I not realise that that was the last green space in Torry? Where are we supposed to go now? What is an ETZ?

The Friends of St Fittick’s Park and others have made a powerful case to save the park. I pay particular tribute to Dr Ishbel Shand, Lesley-Anne Mulholland and Ian Baird, among others, for their campaigning efforts.

The media coverage created some confusion. The project was described as “shovel ready”, but other coverage quoted local politicians and reassured the community that, just because it was part of the local development plan, that did not mean that it would happen and the LDP was not the end of the line for the Torry green space campaign. Which was it? Where are we now with St Fittick’s park?

The proposed development plan currently sits with the independent reporter, and it will be for Aberdeen City Council to consider any forthcoming planning application. In the meantime, there is a wider context.

The north-east is rightly positioning itself as a centre for energy transition. However, to date, the debate on energy transition has derived from an industry context. Professor Tavis Potts, who is interim director of the centre for energy transition at the University of Aberdeen, has highlighted that there is now a need for a community-orientated perspective in which areas are developed in a consensual way and meet both community and industry needs. He has observed that his research has uncovered a strong feeling of dispossession in Torry and that the community has had development imposed on it.

The Scottish Government’s response to the net zero nation engagement strategy identified that participation should be

“inclusive, reflective of all parts of society and not tokenistic.”

An ETZ is an important economic opportunity for diversification from fossil fuels and could have real value for the workforce in Aberdeen, but it must be underpinned by broader just transition policy principles so that communities such as Torry are genuine partners and derive real and meaningful benefit.

I welcome the commitment of Energy Transition Zone Ltd to community engagement and constructive dialogue, and I very much hope that all the decision makers who are involved in the project embrace the principles of strong partnership—not just consultation—community wealth building and creative approaches that genuinely benefit the people of Torry. Options are available in that regard, but there is only one St Fittick’s park.

18:28  

I thank Maggie Chapman for inviting me to second the motion, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak about the issue in the chamber.

In the summer, I visited Torry, where I met campaigners from the Friends of St Fittick’s Park. As Audrey Nicoll and Maggie Chapman have already said, they should be commended for fighting to protect a community green space for all residents of Torry. It has also already been said that that is a well-loved and well-used space.

I find Aberdeen City Council’s decision to rezone St Fittick’s park and Doonies Rare Breeds Farm as opportunity sites for industrial development to be clearly short sighted. As has been said, St Fittick’s park is an award-winning biodiverse area of woodland, wetland and recreational grassland. It is also currently designated as urban green space. Doonies Rare Breeds Farm is a key conservation site that houses 23 rare breeds. The Covid-19 pandemic has surely demonstrated the value of such assets to our communities. They are vital for mental and community wellbeing, and they ensure that local people can exercise their right to a healthy environment.

The energy transition zone project brings with it the risks of overindustrialisation for Torry. Overindustrialisation can lead to poor air quality and create various forms of pollution, such as noise pollution. It can also lead to the loss of green space, and to severe environmental and community wellbeing consequences.

With all that in mind, it is unsurprising that Torry residents and campaign groups such as the Scottish Wildlife Trust are opposed to the ETZ project. However, local opposition to the ETZ is not purely motivated by those environmental and community wellbeing concerns. Torry residents and campaigners are, rightly, frustrated by the lack of meaningful consultation. The Scottish Government says that it is for Aberdeen City Council and the developers, Energy Transition Zone Ltd, to engage with the community, but Aberdeen City Council and Energy Transition Zone Ltd say that a statutory consultation will be driven by the Scottish Government.

The game of shifting responsibility is unacceptable. The people of Torry should have been proactively engaged with from the start of the ETZ project. Residents feel that the lack of meaningful engagement reinforces their concerns that the decision has already been made to proceed with the project.

The Scottish Government seems unwilling to engage with the concerns of residents. I asked the cabinet secretary to outline how the proposed site for the ETZ was chosen, given the significant public investment that the project is receiving. He was quick to pass responsibility on to Aberdeen City Council and the developers. When I pushed him on what the benefits would be for the people of Torry, he said that the ETZ should offer benefits such as the provision of open space for residents and improvements in biodiversity. However, I do not think that any Torry resident or campaigner believes that the ETZ can deliver such benefits.

It is important to know that nobody who is opposed to the ETZ project is refusing to recognise our need to transition away from fossil fuels, but we should not transition by sacrificing existing biodiverse green spaces that have strong community support, such as St Fittick’s park and Doonies Farm. Those two sites are of great value to the local community and worthy of protection, which is why I support the motion and urge all members to do the same.

18:32  

I am pleased to speak in the debate. Having lived in central Aberdeen for nearly two decades now, I am very familiar with the area and its facilities. I have spent many afternoons at Doonies with my family, and I readily acknowledge the importance of such facilities to the local and wider communities.

The motion rightly mentions the importance of our transition from fossil fuels, which speaker after speaker recognised in the debate earlier this afternoon. That is why I am particularly pleased that Energy Transition Zone Ltd, the not-for-profit business that was launched earlier this year to focus on the transition zone, has as its core aim to economically reposition the north-east by reducing its reliance on oil and gas.

There is a delicate balancing act, and, as Mercedes Villalba said, the local community and Friends of St Fittick’s Park are to be commended for standing up to be counted when their green space and facilities appear to be threatened.

In the earlier local development plan consultation stage, I believe that a great many people submitted representations to the council. That having been done, there will be a formalisation of a proposal for an energy transition zone. Just last week, Ironside Farrar Ltd, which is described as a “multiple award-winning environmental consultancy”, was engaged to lead the work on a master plan for the energy transition zone. Only when it has drawn up detailed proposals will there be an application for planning permission in principle.

I hope that the community is encouraged by that, because I understand that bids for the master plan contract, which Ironside Farrar Ltd won, were evaluated on a basis of 70 per cent quality and 30 per cent cost. I understand that the company is backed by a Queen’s award for enterprise for sustainable development. Apparently, it also won awards for environmental improvements in Fittie and Kincardine O’Neil.

Will Liam Kerr agree that, however great the master plan might be, any development at all still represents a loss of green-belt land and urban green space?

Potentially, yes, which is exactly why I am encouraged that the people who are being appointed to assess the site and build the master plan have such a pedigree. Perhaps most important, according to Energy Transition Zone Ltd, Ironside Farrar will

“play a key role in engaging with the local community and other stakeholders through the various stages of the master planning process”.

Neal Handforth, Energy Transition Zone Ltd’s development and infrastructure director, says that Ironside Farrar has

“a proven track record of finding creative and sustainable solutions, and prioritising community participation as a key element of ... project delivery”.

He goes on to say:

“Critical to the project’s success is ensuring the local community is listened to throughout the process”.

It is hugely encouraging that the very people who intend to make the proposals recognise how important it is to listen to the community. Handforth has also committed to

“explore with the community ideas around a number of specific projects and initiatives that would have the aim of developing local amenities”,

while also paying heed to the importance of local “biodiverse areas”.

Coupled with all that, Aberdeen City Council is on the record as recognising the climate and biodiversity emergencies. It was one of the first local authorities to sign the Edinburgh declaration on biodiversity, thereby committing to support local action on conservation of biodiversity. The aim is to send a strong message that supporting local action is key to protecting the natural environment—on which we all depend, as members have rightly pointed out. It should further be recognised that the natural environment is one of the six themes in the city-wide net zero plan that the city is developing.

We all understand that the community is concerned about the development, but the whole process is at a very early stage and I believe that it could be around a year before the master plan comes together. Safeguards for the environmental, biodiversity and community protections appear to be in place, and I look forward to seeing how the plans develop.

18:36  

I thank Maggie Chapman for bringing the debate to the chamber and I congratulate her on securing her first members’ business debate in Parliament. I am sure that all of us who have served as members of the Parliament for some time have experienced in our areas lots of cases like this one, where the interests of communities and planned developments appear to come into conflict with each other. It is part of our duty as parliamentarians to highlight such local campaigns and give them a national platform, so it is an important debate to have in this Parliament.

I will address the question of the development of the energy transition zone shortly but, first, I will set out the context for the debate and highlight aspects of Maggie Chapman’s motion that I—and, I am sure, we all—agree with.

It is important to recognise that Scotland has already undergone the start of an impressive energy transition over the past decade, which we could all see as the first phase of the energy transition that we have to go through. For instance, emissions from our electricity system have reduced by more than 70 per cent since 1990. That is a world-leading achievement that we can all be proud of, but we know that there is still much more to do if we are to end our reliance on fossil fuels in the decades ahead, as the motion notes.

A lot of other things are happening. To give one example, which is very relevant to the debate, our offshore wind policy statement sets out the ambition of developing between 8GW and 11GW of new offshore generation capacity by 2030. I am sure that we all appreciate how vital it is that we continue our energy transition if we are to meet our climate change targets and avoid the damaging consequences of the climate emergency.

To get to the heart of the debate, there is no doubt in my mind that Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland can lead that transition. The components are there: we have a skilled workforce, a vibrant private sector and an infrastructure that can be repurposed to drive our transition to net zero. We have all the ingredients for Aberdeen and Scotland to show global leadership in the energy transition and the just transition.

With that context as the backdrop to the debate, I will also say a few words in support of the aspects of Maggie Chapman’s motion that relate to the importance of delivering a just transition, which I whole-heartedly agree with. That is why we were the first country in the world to enshrine in law our commitment to the principles of just transition. We want the outcome to be a fairer, greener future for everyone in Scotland, but the process must be undertaken in partnership with those who are most impacted by the transition to net zero. It is about how we get to a net zero and climate-resilient economy in a way that also delivers fairness and tackles inequality and injustice.

It is essential that the process is co-designed and co-delivered, and I can point to lots of examples of where we are putting that into practice. Our groundbreaking just transition commission was set up to engage people widely through the transition, and it travelled the country for over two years, listening to communities that will be affected by net zero transition. I should put on record that earlier today I announced the formation of a new commission to be chaired by the chair of the previous commission, Professor Jim Skea, and I expect the new group to continue to engage broadly—

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am quite enjoying the minister’s speech, but the fact is that Maggie Chapman has lodged a very relevant motion and, with respect, I am not sure that the minister is directly addressing some of the key points that she has made.

Thank you very much, Mr Kerr. I have been listening to the minister’s speech and, although it has had a broad span, that is not unheard of as far as ministers are concerned. I encourage the minister to ensure that he addresses the motion, but I do not think that he is necessarily out of order.

With all due respect to Liam Kerr, I have the motion in front of me, and I have made many references in my opening remarks to the points that it makes; the context of the debate, which is just transition; the factors that we have to take into account as we go on this journey; and the impact on communities over the coming decades.

The motion asks us to recognise the importance of green space to communities and of tackling the biodiversity crisis, and we agree with Maggie Chapman on that, too. The impact of Covid on all of us, which some members have highlighted, has led to renewed appreciation of green space, and as we move towards recovery, we should not forget the healing and restorative power of nature. Again, that is the message behind our statement of intent for biodiversity, which recognises the increasing urgency of tackling the challenge of biodiversity loss.

On the proposed siting of the energy transition zone in Torry, I am again grateful to Maggie Chapman for bringing the matter to our attention. I must stress that it is inappropriate for ministers to comment on the specific case at this stage, but as minister for just transition, I will say that many powerful points have been made during the debate that I will want to reflect on as we move forward. After all, we are in the early stages of developing just transition in Scotland and, given that it will be with us for decades, some balances have to be struck that we should reflect on.

I invite you in your ministerial role to visit St Fittick’s community park and Doonies Rare Breeds Farm at some point to see exactly what the Torry community is at risk of losing here.

I assume, Ms Chapman, that you were extending the invitation to the minister rather than to me as Presiding Officer.

I was, indeed, but you would be very welcome to visit, too.

I am very grateful.

You would be most welcome to join me on that visit, Presiding Officer.

I was about to say that I look forward to having the opportunity to visit the site at some point in the future, and I know that the local member would like me to do so. There is also a CLAN Cancer Support lighthouse not too far away at the Torry battery that my wife is desperate to see, so I am keen to visit at some point. Of course, the just transition issues are very important, and I will certainly reflect on the timing of a visit and whether I can do that soon.

The Scottish Government and the planning authority both have statutory roles, and any proposals have to follow due process. Although I cannot give a direct view on the planning issue, I can tell the chamber that our national planning policy is under review; the energy transition zone was received as one of approximately 250 suggested national developments, and we are all considering what those national developments should be with a view to laying the draft national planning framework 4 before the Scottish Parliament in the autumn.

Important messages have been sent and issues have been highlighted in the debate about some of the balances that we have to strike with just transition. Planning policies are in place at the moment to ensure that we take into account green spaces and biodiversity and that we are consulting local communities on these matters. I would, of course, expect all of that to be followed by the local planning authority in taking applications into account.

I thank Maggie Chapman for bringing the issue to the Parliament’s attention and for highlighting the local community’s concerns. I recognise many of the points that have been made about just transition, biodiversity loss and the importance of green space, and I will reflect on all of those issues, even though they are separate to the particular planning application that we are discussing today. I am sure that many more such issues will arise as we move forward to ensure that we have a productive and fruitful energy transition that helps Scotland play a leading role in the world’s efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

Meeting closed at 18:44.