By Jenny Foulds
Council chiefs are having second thoughts over a planned £7million windfarm
in Bonhill due to the turbines being close to residents’ homes.
The Lennox Herald has previously reported how West Dunbartonshire Council
planned to build four turbines at Pappert.
But now council officers have drawn up a second option, which would see
them partnering up with firms Lomond Energy and Wind 2 to site them instead
at Merkins in Dumbarton.
If eventually approved, the energy created could bring in up to £600,000 a
year for the local authority from any future contributions to the National
Grid.
If the second option is agreed, it will be the second time a bid is made to
site turbines at Merkins.
Lomond Energy applied to the council to build 10 turbines at the land
between Bonhill and Gartocharn in 2013 but the bid was refused by planning
committee councillors on the basis it would spoil views from Loch Lomond.
In a report to the infrastructure, regeneration and economic development
committee on February 28, they say the original Pappert plan may struggle
to gain consent due to the “highly sensitive” nature of the viewpoints at
Pappert.
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority has already expressed
concern, principally about the development obstructing views from the
beauty spot.
Councillors will be asked to agree to carry out option appraisals on
further investigation into a more detailed business case for either a
wholly council-owned windfarm at Pappert or to enter into a joint venture
with Lomond Energy.
The report states: “At the moment, the council is in the process of making
a decision as to which of two project options to pursue.
“The first option is apply for planning consent to design and build the
four turbine development on Pappert Hill.
“This land is owned by the council, but it may prove difficult to gain
consent to develop on this land due to its proximity to Bonhill, which is
0.7km away from the turbines, whereas a suggested buffer of 2km from
residential property is the standard recommendation.”
“The second project option is to partner with Lomond Energy and Wind 2, and
invest in turbines located only on Merkins land.
“This option would be the best option as far as obtaining planning consent
goes, due to the highly sensitive nature of the viewpoints from the Pappert
site.
“This wind turbine development would be much larger in scale and has the
potential to negate the whole of the council’s electricity consumption from
grid, but this option means investing in a development on privately owned
land.”
Chiefs say the second option requires more investigations to establish how
much the council would pay for the site, as well as quantifying what the
annual revenue income will b [no more copy on web site]
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