Aberdeen City Council - Don’t make us fight to keep our only power supply

Aberdeen City Council is trying to make us go through a costly and time consuming planning application to keep a small building that provides our only electricity supply, with no guarantee the application would be accepted.

For eight years we fought several utility companies over their refusal to send accurate bills and attempts to trick us into paying money we didn’t owe. Eventually we were left with only one option to avoid being cheated - go off-grid. We decided on solar PV as this is the most reliable and cost effective means of generating off-grid electricity. But we didn’t have a South facing roof, so we built a small wooden building to house the solar panels. We spent several weeks building it with our own hands. Now the council want us to go through a lengthy and costly planning application just to keep this building.

I live with my disabled mother. Living without power would deny her vital medical treatment (which she already has to pay for herself) as this has to be stored in a refrigerator. Her treatment has already been affected by having to build the building and off-grid system over the summer, and having to go through a lengthy bureaucratic process would undoubtedly affect it further.

I earn a low income with a self employed electrical business that provides our only income. I could not do this without a power supply to charge my tools and run a laptop for my paperwork. I’ve also released a computer program that I hope to develop into a business. This would of course also be impossible without a power supply. I’m busy trying to earn a living for us and will struggle if I have to spend time dealing with a planning application.

Living without power would be a nightmare in today’s world - hand washing clothes, no lights, no fridge, etc. We are socially isolated and depend on the internet as our only connection to the rest of humanity. Without a power supply this too would be lost.

We don’t know who, if anyone made a complaint about our building, but we don’t believe it’s causing anyone a nuisance. It doesn’t block the light to, or view from, anyone’s windows. It replaced an old garden shed, on the same site, that was rotting away.

In very adverse circumstances we are doing something positive for the planet - solar PV is zero emissions and totally sustainable. Don’t let Aberdeen City Council take that away. Please sign the petition.

If you live outside the UK you can sign by emailing your name, any message you wish to be included with your signature, and stating that you are signing the petition "Aberdeen City Council - Don’t make us fight to keep our only power supply", to [email protected] . Thanks.