A major Greenock factory has abandoned plans to build a 250-foot (77-metre)
high wind turbine which it said was vital in order to protect jobs at the
plant.

Texas Instruments was refused permission to install the structure at their
premises in Earnhill Road earlier this year by Inverclyde planning
officials but appealed against the verdict.

Councillors were due to consider whether the decision should be overturned
but a meeting of Inverclyde’s planning appeals committee – the local review
body – was told the company has withdrawn the appeal. No further
explanation was given in Texas Instruments’s letter to the council.

Inverclyde Council planning department refused the turbine saying it would
create an “unexpected and dominant feature over a range of distances,
adversely affecting a large population” because of its height, scale,
proximity to housing and Gourock Golf Club and its hilltop location within
the built-up area.

The company employs more than 300 full-time employees making microchips at
the factory. A report submitted with the planning application on behalf of
Texas Instruments had stated: “In recent years the rising cost of energy to
the site has adversely affected the plant’s profitability. In addition,
there is growing pressure on the company to reduce carbon emissions and
operate in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The
development of a decentralised (wind) energy supply at the site is a
central and vital component of the company’s short to medium-term business
strategy.”

But the council’s head of regeneration and planning Stuart Jamieson had
stated in his report: “The applicant has provided a socio-economic impact
assessment which identifies that they are a significant employer in the
area and, as well as competing in a global market, they have to compete
with other sites within the company for cost-effectiveness. However, my
unfavourable assessments on impacts on landscape and the wider
environment…significantly outweigh any of the potential economic benefits.”


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2 Comments

stephen morrison · December 28, 2015 at 2:57 pm

It’s nice for the unemployed to gaze out onto pleasant scenery, it takes their mind off the misery of their lives.Mr Jamie son has disproven the old adage, and proved that a good view is indeed edible. One must assume he works son a Pro Bond basis for the Council

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