A council’s refusal of a wind farm described as “overly prominent and
overwhelming” by officials has been overturned on appeal.
A Scottish government reporter concluded the 12-turbine Hopsrig scheme near
Langholm was “appropriate in scale and character to its setting”.
Dumfries and Galloway Council rejected the project due to concerns about
its impact on the Eskdale valley.
However, it can now go ahead with a string of conditions attached.
The companies behind the scheme – Buccleuch and renewable energy firm
Muirhall Energy – welcomed the decision.
‘Economic benefit’
“We and our partners worked extremely hard to develop a proposal that can
be accommodated within the landscape and aligned with the local authority’s
vision for the area,” said Buccleuch chief executive John Glen.
“We now look forward to working closely with the local communities and
other bodies to deliver significant economic benefit to the area as the
wind farm progresses.”
Alastair Yule, senior development manager with Muirhall Energy, said a lot
of work still had to be done before the development was built.
“We have a policy of favouring local suppliers on all of our projects and
hope that local businesses will get involved as we look forward to
delivering the wind farm,” he added.
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