By Jamie Buchan
Consultants are being drafted in to assess the impact of three giant
windfarms proposed for parts of rural Perthshire.
Perth and Kinross Council has issued a call for reinforcements to carry out
a study of major turbine developments in the Highlands, Strathmore and
Glens area of the region.
The proposals amount to an extra 66 turbines and have already sparked
widespread opposition from residents and conservationists.
Now the local authority has announced its intention to carry out an
extensive survey to determine exactly how the trio of projects could affect
their surroundings.
The council has issued a contract, calling for professionals to pour over
the developers’ weighty environmental statements, as well as other
submitted paperwork, and look at the cumulative impact of the three proposals.
The planned developments which will be scrutinised are the 17-turbine
Dulater Hill wind park near Butterstone, the Crossburns project beside
Aberfeldy (25 masts) and the Talladh a Beithe scheme near Rannoch which is
expected to have 24 turbines.
It is the first time that the local authority has called in outside help to
determine windfarm applications in this way.
A council spokeswoman said: “We currently have three significant wind farm
applications in the Perth and Kinross Council area, each of which is in
excess of the 50MW threshold which requires referral to the Scottish
Government for a determination.
“To ensure that the council is able to meet its full obligations as a
consultee in these applications, and meet the statutory timescales for
providing our response, we are tendering for an external consultant to
carry out an independent assessment of each wind farm application.
“This work will then help inform reports to the Development Management
Committee for each application.”
Costs for the study have yet to be finalised.
According to the wording of the contract notice, consultants could also be
called in to give evidence at any subsequent public local inquiry.
Residents across the region have mounted a bid to block the developments.
They believe the masts planned for Dulater will impact on a highly
sensitive site near to the Loch of Lowes nature reserve, as well as the
Forest of Clunie.
Residents at Rannoch have also launched their own Keep Rannoch Wild
campaign, calling for the Talladh a Beith plan to be rejected.
The John Muir Trust has also raised grave concerns about the Crossburns
development, claiming it could blight the Rob Roy Way, one of Scotland’s
best loved trails.
With two major windfarms already spread across the Highland Perthshire
landscape – Griffin and Calliachar – there are already 82 installed
turbines visible from Schiehallion, Perthshire’s most prominent mountain.
If Crossburns and other applications in the pipeline were to be approved
the number of turbines in the part of Highland Perthshire would rise to 136.
1 Comment