Written by Neil Drysdale

Some people regard them as an integral, and even soothing, feature of
modern Scotland ­– while others view them as a blot on the landscape that
threatens to eviscerate the country’s natural beauty.

There are few people who sit on the fence when it comes to windfarms. And,
as a new YouGov poll has demonstrated, the battle between those who want
further investment in renewable energy and those who argue vehemently that
turbines are destroying part of the essence of Scotland’s character shows
no signs of abating.

Jim Treasurer, the chairman of the Friends of the Great Glen environmental
group in the Highlands, is among those who are convinced that more than
enough windfarms have already been created in a part of a world now
synonymous with such box-office hits as Outlander, Brave, Sunset Song and
The Crown.

As he said yesterday, with reference to plans for a so-called “Ring of
Steel” around Loch Ness: “We are concerned, but the Scottish Government
also needs to be concerned, because these are areas of outstanding national
beauty, yet they keep ignoring the views of Highland Council.

“I think that Loch Ness and the Great Glen are so well known globally and,
with over a million visitors every year, that the impact of visually
blighting developments on the landscape and also the Highland ecosystems
will have an impact on the quality of the visitor experience.

“I believe wild land has been eroded so much in the last 20 years it is an
endangered area, much the same as destruction of natural landscapes such as
in the Amazonian basin, and it needs to be given protection.

“Just last weekend, the Lake District was given the designation of a Unesco
world heritage site, on account of its landscape and for cultural reasons,
and I don’t think the Scottish Highlands is any less important or worthy of
worldwide landscape and natural heritage status.”

The subject has resurfaced, following the findings of a poll which showed
that 55% of Scots were being deterred from visiting scenic areas in their
homeland because of major infrastructure developments such as windfarms,
pylons and super-quarries.

The survey, carried out by conservation charity The John Muir Trust, has
served as a call to arms for both supporters and critics of the giant
turbines which have become an increasingly common phenomenon in the last 10
or 20 years. In Aberdeenshire, for instance, there have been a string of
commercial and community-owned initiatives and planning applications
lodged, and locals seem divided over their merits.

Jenni Fraser, business development director of VisitAberdenshire, said
yesterday: “We support the careful placement of windfarms, providing they
do not negatively impact on our many north-east beauty spots (including the
iconic Dunnottar Castle)

“The government has a strict planning permission process to ensure the
placement of windfarms is done responsibly to not only protect the
aesthetic appearance of the landscape, but to protect our nearby wildlife.”

And yet, privately, there have been reservations among those involved in
the tourist industry about the negative influence off too many such schemes.

The Press and Journal contacted several businesses across the north of
Scotland yesterday. And the responses tended to sum up the conflicting
viewpoints.

Julia Kenny, who owns Forres’s Cluny Bank Hotel, said: “I know a lot people
locally who have very strong opinions about windfarms, but our foreign
guests never seem to bring them up, either in a positive or a negative manner.”

However, a hotelier in Fort William, who requested anonymity, responded: “I
am not against renewable energy, but these things are being constructed to
the point where the landscape is being destroyed. And the landscape is
hugely important. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

In Inverness, meanwhile, another tourism boss, who did not wish to be
named, said: “I don’t know what we keep flinging money at turbines for.
They keep breaking down, they don’t work if there’s no wind, the buzzing
noise irritates locals and tourists, and they are an eyesore. It’s high
time we called a halt. Enough subsidies have been given to these operators
already.”

Further west, Callum MacLeod, the owner of Piazza and Ee-usk restaurants on
the north pier in Oban, added: “I like green energy, but I do think
windfarms should be extremely sensitively located. They are very important,
but they should be in appropriate locations. Sometimes, they can be a blot
on the landscape.

“Tourism and industry are not very compatible (in Scotland). In fact, the
Falkirk Wheel is probably about the only exception. But there again, I
certainly prefer windfarms to fracking.”

These arguments won’t go away. But while the positive effect of windfarms
is one of the few matters that commands political consensus at Holyrood,
the gulf between the pro and anti-turbine brigade seems bigger than ever.

Lindsay Roberts, the senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said:
“Contrary to what is being suggested by this recent (YouGov) survey, the
vast majority of research has found there is no connection between the
development of onshore windfarms and negative impacts on tourism in Scotland.

“Scotland’s National Parks and National Scenic Areas are off limits to
windfarms and the rigorous nature of our planning system means that
developments have to be responsibly designed and built to pass the strict
tests set by local and national planning authorities.

“Climate change remains the greatest threat to Scotland’s environment and
the pressing need to tackle it means we must clean up our energy system as
quickly as possible.

“Wind energy is one of the most effective, cheapest and most popular ways
to do so.”

None the less, the anger felt by campaigners in the north is tangible,
especially at what some regard as a process whereby objections are listened
to politely and then ignored by officials.

Lyndsey Ward is among those who have expressed their concerns.

She said: “Why are we still debating whether spearing industrial hardware
into our iconic landscapes deters visitors? I know of at least two
prestigious businesses (in the Highlands) which did their own surveys among
guests when a German multinational company threatened a huge 25-turbine
development in beautiful Strathglass, near Glen Affric.

“The resounding majority said the potential turbines would affect their
willingness to return. And many more than in this survey by the John Muir
Trust. Four years ago, (the then First Minister) Alex Salmond was handed a
petition by Fiona Weir – the widow of broadcaster and naturalist Tom –
which was signed by thousands of people from around the world begging him
to stop the reckless siting of windfarms in Scotland.

“He smiled for the photo and accepted the file from potential visitors to
protect our precious and irreplaceable landscapes at Bute House (in
Edinburgh) after refusing to meet anti-wind campaigners at the SNP
conference in Inverness. With hundreds of turbines still threatening our
country, including over 500 around Loch Ness, these true monsters of
Scotland are not viewed with affection like Nessie and could well be
responsible for the death of an industry (tourism) which has sustained
rural communities for generations.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said last night that these claims were
invalid.

She said: “Our tourism industry continues to flourish and across all
international markets there was a 3% increase in visits in the 12 months to
the end of March, with a rise in spending of 9%.

“Scottish planning policy published in 2014 already provides further
protection to all of Scotland’s National Scenic Areas (NSAs) and National
Parks from large-scale wind energy developments.

“Furthermore, the policy is clear that plans should identify and safeguard
the character of areas of wild land as identified on the 2014 SNH map of
wild land areas.

“Whilst development may be appropriate in some cases, each proposal should
be, and always will be, considered on its own merits.” For some people,
Scotland is the country whose scenery is unique and as resplendent as you
will find anywhere else in the world.

Jim Treasurer summed up that opinion when he stated: “We have the most
wonderful natural landscape and
we are attracting tourists on the back of TV programmes such as Outlander.

“What do these tourists think when they look at the majestic pictures on
their TV screens, then they come here and come face to face with the visual
blight of windfarms?

“It has to cause a great amount of disappointment and even grievance. And,
if that is the case, will these people come back again in the future?”

However, the renewables sector remains bullish. They might acknowledge that
the protesters are entitled to raise concerns, but they are sticking to
their guns.

As Lindsay Roberts, of Scottish Renewables, added: “An independent report
last year found that employment in tourism in the majority of areas
surrounding windfarms grew faster than in the wider local authority areas
where they were situated.”
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