By Joshua King
A wind turbine project which threatened to divide a north-east community
has been revived – just months after it was rejected by councillors.
Farmer James Gammie had applied to build three 260ft masts on three
neighbouring plots of land and claimed they would boost the local community.
But despite more than 500 letters and e-mails of support for his proposals,
members of the local authority’s Banff and Buchan area committee refused to
give permission for two of the turbines and delayed making a decision on
the third.
Now Mr Gammie has successfully appealed the decision with the Scottish
Government and plans to start erecting the masts on sites at Cairnhill,
Gawnsmoss and Gledsgreen, about three miles south-west of Banff.
When the proposals were first unveiled, Aberdeenshire Council planning
chiefs were flooded with more than 225 objections from residents who argued
there were already too many turbines in the Banffshire countryside.
Concerns were also raised about noise pollution, house prices, tourism and
shadow flicker, and local authority officials recommended the scheme be
rejected.
Residents who heralded the original decision to block it have been left
stunned by the decision of Scottish Government reporter David Buylla to
overturn their elected members’ ruling.
Local campaigner Dr Jane Farquharson said: “Even though planners and local
councillors may be concerned about protecting small communities from such
inappropriate-scale industrial development, this counts for nothing if
developers can go over their heads to the Scottish Government.
“For us, this whole drawn-out planning process has been a waste of time and
a fiasco.”
Dr Farquharson, whose home is less than half a mile from the proposed
developments, was disappointed Mr Buylla did not visit her property to
consider the impact on the landscape.
“It has all boiled down to one man from the Scottish Government looking at
the application from the developer’s point of view – quite literally in
this case – and deciding that the hugely negative impact on the community
and the landscape is not important.”
Neighbour Lorna Chapman echoed Dr Farquharson’s comments and said: “Rural
home owners in this area really are now just lambs to the slaughter.
“I say this as the reporter has thrown out any protection we had from the
Landscape Capacity Report, any protection from cumulative impact leaving
only a total free-for-all now with no protection left for the suckers left
trapped and forced to exist in the middle of one massive, haphazard,
ill-thought-out windfarm.
“Do I feel aggrieved? Yes, I most certainly do. Come to Banff and marvel at
the wind turbine landscape to beat all others.”
In his appeal decision, Mr Buylla concluded that despite local objections
the development would not have a negative impact on the landscape.
He said: “It is almost inevitable that the construction of large man-made
objects in a rural setting will cause significant visual amenity effects in
the immediate vicinity of the site.
“It is essential therefore the wider public benefits of reduced greenhouse
gas emissions, energy supply diversification and local economic benefits
are weighed against such localised harm.
“I conclude that the development plan conflict and limited adverse impacts
are outweighed by the public benefits I have identified and that the
balance lies in favour of granting planning permission to all three.”
Mr Gammie did not respond to a request for a comment last night.
3 Comments
Stop the gravy train · March 17, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Disgusting!!! I thought that we were supposed to live in a democracy. It is worst than Stalinist Russia, with SNP jackboots stamping down on anything that gets in the way of their stupid dogma.