A petition signed by 9,000 people objecting to the proposed Mooir Vannin offshore wind farm has been presented at Tynwald Day.
Representatives from the ‘No Offshore Turbines for the Isle of Man’ campaign handed over the document on Tynwald Hill, calling for greater transparency over the project.
Georgina O’Sullivan, speaking on behalf of the group, said campaigners were not permitted to discuss the wind farm directly in their petition.
“We’re actually not allowed to talk about Mooir Vannin the Wind Farm in any of the petitions that we are bringing forward to government, so that includes Tynwald Hill today,” she said.
“It’s been quite interesting to try and get across to government that the mandate that we’re hearing from the people without being able to address this sensibly and openly, and it just speaks to the total lack of transparency that we feel that surrounds the whole thing.”
Debates
Ian Strafford said the government had pursued the project without proper public debate.
“The government has decided that they have a policy to effectively lease our seabed for money, and what that’s resulted in is an offshore wind farm that’s got huge environmental impact compared to any benefit that the Isle of Man would see,” he said.
He added: “This offshore wind farm is for revenue, and the environmental impact that it’s going to create is going to be significant and huge, and not only that, but long lasting. We’re talking over 35 years here.”
The campaigners also raised concerns about restrictions on candidates discussing the project during the upcoming election period with Mr Strafford saying candidates should “absolutely” be free to talk about it.