WHILST completely in agreement with Struan Stevenson ("March of the wind farms is destroying Scotland’s beauty – but we can stop it", The Herald, May 27) about the catastrophic effect of unrestrained wind farm development on Scotland’s beautiful landscapes, the opinion of people living in the Central Belt are largely ignored on this subject.

Latest figures from the Scottish Government and other databases show that East Renfrewshire has by far the highest density of turbines in the whole of Scotland at 1.144 turbines per square kilometre compared to 0.030 per sq km in the Highlands. East Renfrewshire may not be classed as a scenic area, it may not be a tourist area, but it is home to many people and we don’t all love having turbines in view from every direction.

We have as much right to enjoy the countryside as anyone else, if not more, because the majority are employed in the city and need respite from that environment. Having to walk amongst the 215 turbines at Whitelee or dodge the Neilston and Middleton wind farms alongside the myriad of single turbines densely scattered throughout the area is not everyone’s idea of a pleasant day out. The greenbelt has been destroyed. Why are we destroying nature on the pretence of saving it?

I’m sure that Mr Stevenson and I both agree that we don’t need any more wind turbines in any area of Scotland.

Aileen Jackson, Uplawmoor.

WIND POWER KEY TO OUR FUTURE

STRUAN Stevenson's claims about wind energy are at best uninformed.

To answer several: renewable energy now provides the equivalent of 97.4 per cent of Scotland's electricity consumption. Wind provides the majority of that power.

Wind power is not expensive – in fact, quite the opposite. Wind power and large-scale solar are the cheapest forms of new energy generation, full stop.

Mr Stevenson may also want to consider the damage which climate change will do to Scotland's flora and fauna: it is the greatest threat to their existence, and decarbonising our energy system is vital if we are to tackle it. Wind power – to which latest UK Government figures show only 10% of Scots are opposed – is key to doing that while delivering year-round economic benefits to remote communities across Scotland.

Morag Watson, Director of Policy, Scottish Renewables, Glasgow.

LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVES

STRUAN Stevenson’s article on wind farms points out the negatives about their use onshore, but comes up with no suggestion as to how we are to produce the electricity we will need in much greater quantities for our all-electric future. He uses the word "industrial" four times to describe turbines as if that were a dirty word rather than a statement of the obvious.

He could have pointed out some of the positives in alternative ways of renewable energy production, such as the generation of tidal electricity in Orkney and the Scottish firm in the forefront of hydrogen production.

He could also have pointed out some of the more glaring negatives from the government he represented in Europe for many years.

Two obvious examples would be the abandoned Severn Valley barrage which Theresa May considered uncompetitive, and the current Government’s failure to build a battery gigafactory which could answer some of the objections to the intermittent nature of renewable electricity.

Sam Craig, Glasgow.

* COULD Struan Stevenson please explain his plan for "keeping the lights on"?

John Fleming, Glasgow.

WILL ONLINE KILL CINEMA?

YOU report that Amazon has bought MGM studios, a sad day for the future of cinema with Warner also merging with Discovery ("007 enters Amazon’s service in £6bn deal", The Herald, May 27).

Online retail has killed the High Street and it looks as if the same will happen with online taking on the main release of films and the managing of the film industry back catalogue.

The big online companies contribute little by way of tax to the UK whilst shops and potentially cinemas will reduce in number with consequential loss of jobs. The Government at Westminster needs to introduce a fair tax regime on these companies to compensate for the loss of business rates and corporation tax.

Bill Eadie, Giffnock.

LEAVE THE KILTIES ALONE

I FEAR Mark Smith risks getting his knickers in a twist when he queries how many men putting on kilts would secretly like to try “women’s clothes” ("Can Scots admit what kilts are really all about?", The Herald, May 27).

In my advanced years, lingerie, naughty or otherwise, remains pretty much a mystery, and the acrobatics required a lost cause.

Let stalwarts sporting kilts be free to do so without questioning subconscious motives.

For myself, include me out. My spindle shanks would not impress, and calls of “kiltie, kiltie cauld bum” when “turned out” with no choice in the matter long ago, a risk longer to be tholed.

R Russell Smith, Largs.

IT'S GOOD TO GRUMBLE

TINA Oakes (Letters, May 27) certainly occasioned a loud note of discord with her comments on the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. The brouhaha which ensued following the expression of her forthright views (Letters, May 28 & 29) reminded me of some words of W S Gilbert: "Oh, wouldn’t the world seem dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?"

Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.