Four in 10 wind turbine appeals decided by the Scottish government successfully overturned the original decision, the BBC has found.
Official figures show 250 wind turbine applications, which were refused by Scottish councils, have been decided by the Scottish government since 2002.
In 104 cases (41.6%) the original decision was reversed.
Campaign groups said government planners were overruling democratic decisions taken by councils.
The Scottish government said the planning system was focused on early engagement with communities.
The figures from the Scottish government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) detail the number of appeals decided over the past 16 years.
They include a small number of cases – nine in total – relating to conditions attached to a development but the rest are for wind farms of two turbines or more.
More info available at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/wind-turbine-appeal-decisions-statistics/
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