Jane Candlish
Campaigners battling plans for a windfarm in the Highlands have urged the
Scottish Government not to break its policy on wild land development.
Three years on from a public inquiry, there has still been no decision on
the proposed Allt Duine scheme at Alvie.
Now it has emerged that developer RWE Innogy has been asked to provide more
information about its likely impact on designated wild land in the area.
Campaigners at Save the Monadhliath Mountains have now called on the
government to support its own policy and reject the plan, which would
comprise 31 turbines, each standing 410ft tall.
Chris Townsend, mountaineer and spokesman for the SMM campaign, said: “The
Scottish ministers have promised to strengthen the status and protection of
wild land in policy, and have spent a lot of time and money on devising
this policy and in updating the mapping of wild land.
“However, all we have seen since is a very worrying reluctance on the part
of the government to actually implement their own policy.”
He added: “All this leads us to suspect whether the government’s policy on
wild land is all just political spin, designed to hold off campaigners
against ludicrous proposals until they are eventually granted permission.”
Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, said: “It is of huge
concern that the Scottish Government seems to be at sixes and sevens.
“The new planning policy makes it quite clear that the Wild Land Areas
(WLAs), as mapped by Scottish Natural Heritage, must be afforded
significant protection, and yet developers are continuing to argue about
whether areas within that WLA can be called wild land.
“The government needs to show leadership and refuse this application
without further ado.”
An RWE Innogy spokeswoman said: “We share the concerns expressed that the
decision for Allt Duine is taking so long – indeed we were reluctant to
undertake further assessment because of the additional delay this would
introduce.
“However we are doing so, in part following a request from the Cairngorms
National Park Authority.
“The key considerations against which the Allt Duine site was designed,
judged and argued at length at the public inquiry have not altered.
“The relative wildness of the site and its surroundings – which were
debated openly, and at length during the Inquiry – have not changed.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “This application is with Scottish
ministers for consideration. Our policy on windfarm applications aims to
recognise Scotland’s massive green energy potential while strengthening
protection of the country’s most scenic and wild areas.”
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