Sir, – So beavers are not responsible for the flooding in Alyth.
This is probably true as the majority of the drainage from their stronghold in Bamff Estate does not go down Alyth Burn but follows a separate burn that enters the Isla above Alyth.
But if beavers had been present on Alyth Burn, they would have undoubtedly added to the debris that blocked the bridges and increased the flooding in Alyth.
We live on a burn with beavers and it is a regular occurrence for floods to bring down to us branches and small trees felled by beavers.
These problems can be greatly increased when, as occasionally happens, a dam collapses in a flood.
However, a moreserious problem in our experience is theextensive tunnelling of the river banks.
Our beavers dig complex tunnel networks. Each tunnel is about 16 inches in diameter and several yards long.
Their digging results in many tons of soil and sand being excavated and dumped in the burn, silting up the bottom for hundreds of yards below.
Furthermore, twotunnels have collapsed where they pass under a path and several more holes have appeared. These are potential man (and animal) traps when concealed by vegetation.
I like beavers and am prepared to accept the problems they can cause. And they can causeserious problems.
They can, but do not always interfere with access by salmon and trout to spawning burns.
They graze crops and block drainage ditches.
In Bavaria, where beavers were re-introduced between 1966 and the 1980s, the population had increased to 12,000 by 2007.
This has resulted in control programmes with compensation being paid for the damage they cause and up to 500 beavers being trapped and killed each year.
Is the Scottish Government prepared to do the same?
Beavers are rodents and are interesting, just as are other rodents such as mice and rats. But we need to keep a sense of balance and perspective.
In the right areas they are an interesting addition to our wildlife but they will profoundly change their habitat, not always for the better.
But in the wrong place they will be a significant problem.
They should never have been released and allowed to become established in a large and diverse catchment such as the Tay system without proper forethought as to how they were to be managed.
Dave Trudgill. Newmill, Blairgowrie.
Energy crisis approaches
Sir, – Longannet power station, which is due for closure, has four 600MW steam turbines and can thus produce a continuous power output of 2400MW.
This is roughly about 50% of Scotland’s base load power requirement.
As a comparison, Pitlochry hydro power station can generate 15MW.
Steam turbines cannot be stopped and started effectively and efficiently but water turbines can.
They can be started and stopped within a matter of minutes which makes them ideal forproviding peak demand as necessary.
It is the role of thecontrol engineer to balance the power supply and demand for electricity to ensure that the voltage on the grid is held at a satisfactory level.
In the past, using thermal stations for providing the base load and hydro stations for satisfying peak demands, the electricity supply has been dependable.
However, with the advent of wind farms, this has changed. A wind turbine is designed to operate at a particular wind speed. If this drops, then the output power significantly drops as the power is proportional to the cube of the speed.
This means that if the wind speed is one half of the design speed, then the output power is one eighth of the rated value.
And if the wind increases above the design level then it may be necessary to shut down the turbine for safety reasons.
This intermittent supply presents a problem for steam operating plants by taking them off the grid when the wind is blowing and making them uneconomic.
Nuclear power stations are steam turbine based and with Hunterston B and Torness due to close in the not too distant future it is anyone’s guess what the situation will be.
To shout about wind, wave, tidal, solar, biomass and geothermal is utter nonsense and it is unfortunate that there are not a number of engineers within government to help formulate a sensible and practical energy policy for Scotland.
Professor John Milne. 45 Monymusk Road, Arbroath.
Scots will turn away from BBC
Sir, – Once again the debate on the BBC has come down to those on the free Scotland side and those on the union side.
Here are some facts that will probably get in the way of a good story.
The BBC conducted its own research and found that just over half of Scots did not think it adequately reflected Scottish current affairs or culture.
The BBC Charter renewal team in Scotland came up with a blueprint for the future of the BBC in Scotland which was headed and supported by Ken MacQuarrie and the entire Scottish executive team. What they asked for was accepted by the London senior management overnight
This would have meant a five-fold increase to more than £150 million for programme making and would have devolved all programme making to the BBC in Scotland.
There would also be Scottish broadcasting every week day from 1800 to midnight.
In addition, there would be an hour-long news programme at peak times reflecting world and United Kingdom news from a Scottish perspective.
Of course, all other UK BBC programmes would run as they always have.
These points are hardly radical unless, of course, you are so consumed with dislike for Scottish culture and current affairs like some of the regular correspondents to The Courier, you consider Scotland to be some kind of illiterate backwater.
Some correspondents believe that only issues that come from the BBC in London are important and do not view Scotland as a modern progressive nation.
Bryan Auchterlonie. Bluebell Cottage, Ardargie.
We cannot take in more refugees
Sir, – When I watch the migrants in Greece and Italy, the first thing that strikes me is how nourished and reasonably dressed they all appear.
The men especially look fit, showing no outer signs of persecution. The majority are young men of military age who instead of fleeing to Europe should be fighting for their beliefs in their own country.
While I believe it is right and proper to rescue people adrift in boats there is no obligation to ferry them to the European mainland.
The EU leaders are all wringing their hands wondering what to do, They should let the immigrants know that they are in Europe on a temporary basis and issue them with a visa only until things stabalise in their own countries.
Britain accepted 300,000 immigrants in the past year. This is economically unsustainable without being expected to take in many more thousands,
It is time to call a halt to all immigration until the world economy improves.
T.Gardner Main Street Bankfoot
Flawed Madras calculations
Sir,- I write with reference to Bill Sangster’s letter concerning projected numbers (1400 to 1700) attending the new Madras, and the number of buses he expects to be required to ferry pupils to the school – 72.
Unless I have missed something, there seems to be a problem with Mr Sangster’s arithmetic.
Assuming half of the 72 buses will be double deck with an adult seating capacity of 75 and the rest single deck vehicles with an adult seating capacity of 50, this equates to 36 x 75 + 36 x 50 = 4,500 pupils travelling by bus.
A conservative difference of 2,800 more pupils travelling to the new school by bus than there are places for.
Mr Sangster has either grossly overestimated the requirement for buses or underestimated the size of the new school, or have these figures been imaginatively plucked from thin air?
Presently, school buses leave the Madras Kilrymont building and make their way through a residential area quickly and efficiently with none of the problems envisaged by Mr Sangster should the school be built at Pipeland.
Colin Topping. Crathes Close, Glenrothes.
Exploitation of tourists
Sir, – I have experienced severe difficulty in trying to get a room at a reasonable price in Edinburgh for one night on September 8.
The reason is the Foo Fighters are playing at Murrayfield and some hotels in Edinburgh have at least doubled if not tripled their price. This is exceptionally unfair to people who have no interest in attending this concert and it is nothing short of profiteering by establishments, pricing ordinary people who simply want a night out in Edinburgh out of the market.
They should be ashamed of themselves. They are putting tourists off.
Gordon Kennedy. 117 Simpson Square, Perth.
Sorry state of Perth City Hall
Sir, – Councillors are correct to decline public access to Perth City Hall. It is not presently safe for public access.
None of the entrance steps up to the hall complies with current requirements for public access. The main floor has large holes cut into it and the main chandeliers have been lowered down to floor level, perhaps as a precautionary measure.
The toilets are down steep steps into the basement. Flooring in the bar area upstairs is loose and potentially dangerous.
There have been other hazards too from dry rot and, I suspect, drainage pipes.
I imagine that the current insurance would not cover the risks of public access.
All of this suggests that significant investment would be needed to bring Perth City Hall back into any public use.
None of these hazards need deter investment and some new use that would provide for future maintenance and insurance of this fine building
In the meantime, Perth City Hall’s exterior is deteriorating and trees are growing around the roof.
Andrew Dundas. 34 Ross Avenue, Perth.