Dear Friends
An application has been submitted to Dumfries & Galloway Planning for a 7 x 149.9m turbine wind farm on Mochrum Fell, set on the skyline of the highest fell in the area especially visible from the A75, A712, A713 and virtually all the Loch Ken area.
The wind turbines would be 40m taller than those at the existing Blackcraig wind farm just to the north. Combined with new applications and proposals there would be 84 turbines in the Corsock area alone. Many existing turbines may soon be increased in size and new Pylon Lines scar our countryside. Thousands of trees will be removed and habitats destroyed, to be replaced by thousands of tonnes of concrete and steel and a forest of turbines up to 250 metres in height.
Foreign developers and sovereign wealth funds, alongside a handful of landowners will reap the benefit of this destruction. Very few long term jobs will be created but hundreds in tourism threatened. Over £700 million of Constraint Payments have been paid to wind farm developers in the last decade to turn wind turbines off when the grid cannot cope with their fluctuating supply. Constraint Payments and Community Benefit are paid out of our own taxes and electricity bills. Community Benefit reflects a fraction of the true cost to the Natural Capital of Dumfries and Galloway, whose people will be left with the desecration of our wild spaces, considerably higher energy bills and minimal net benefit to our environment. There is already generation over capacity in existing or planned onshore and offshore wind farms.
SG Policy states that it should be the right development in the right place, not development at any cost. Mochrum Fell is the wrong development in the wrong place and the significant adverse effects on landscape character and visual amenity are unacceptable.
We are fighting to stop the Mochrum Fell wind farm being approved. We have drafted an objection letter and would greatly appreciate it if you would object to this application – it only needs you to forward it as an email to the Planners, deleting this first section and add your name and address adding any other comments, or send your own objection.
If you could each do this individually and send them as separate emails please, it would then count as more objections instead of just one and if you could please BCC us we would appreciate it as objections have been mislaid in the past. trevprocter@aol.co.uk
If you could each do this individually and send them as separate emails please, it would then count as more objections instead of just one and if you could please BCC us we would appreciate it as objections have been mislaid in the past. trevprocter@aol.co.uk
To help save Galloway’s beautiful and unique landscape and precious green spaces, would you please forward this email to everyone you know and ask if they would also object. Thank you.
Objections should be received by 3rd December 2020
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to help – we really appreciate it – and we apologize if you have received this more than once.
Kind regards
Trevor and Elaine Procter
Meikle Mochrum, Knockvennie, Castle Douglas, DG7 3PD
Objections by email to:- Planning@dumgal.gov.uk
Please INSERT YOUR NAME and ADDRESS and DATE for the objection to count and put your name and signature at the end, thank you
———————————–———————————
To: Chris McTeir, Planning & Building Standards, Kirkbank, English Street, Dumfries,DG1 2HS
Ref – 20/1683/FUL Mochrum Fell Wind Farm
I would like to register my strong OBJECTION to this application.
1. The amended proposal does not reduce the significant adverse environmental impact. It is clear that the developers accept that the larger turbines increase landscape impact, given that they propose the removal of one turbine expressly to offset the increased turbine height. Any claim that this results in a neutral net impact depends on the judgement that 7 higher turbines equals 8 lower turbines, which their own visualisations in the application demonstrate is not the case.
2. This proposal is non-compliant with the DGWLCS and would have unacceptable significant adverse impacts including:- landscape and visual impacts, cumulative impact, ecological impact on protected species and habitat, impacts on residential amenity including noise, impact on tourism and recreational interest.
The Council Landscape Architect’s initial response to the original application 2014 – Policy overview; It is considered that the Mochrum Fell Windfarm proposals, in themselves would have significant adverse scale effects in relation to Mochrum Fell, local landscape character, residential, and recreational views, including some key Loch Ken views.
3. Cumulative landscape and sequential impacts are not just with Blackcraig, but all the other proposed wind farms around Corsock and beyond. There is no mention of Whiteneuk in the Non-technical summary, which is a serious defect in the application. There is an increasing possibility that the upland tract between Loch Ken, Corsock and Moniaive will end up like the area around Abington/Crawford that was already compromised by the M6/ WCML/ power line corridor. There is no such justification for damaging the peaceful upland area at Mochrum Fell.
4. In 2015 the previous Mochrum Fell wind farm application was refused unanimously by the elected D&G Planning Committee with strong objections from 5 local Community Councils and almost 900 public objections. At the 2016 Appeal the Scottish Government Reporter overturned the decision, making a mockery of local democracy. The refusal should have been upheld.
5. If the original scoping for a 15 turbine scheme with turbine heights up to 137 metres was unacceptable and had to be reduced to 8 turbines of 126.5 in order to secure consent at Appeal, then taller turbines of 149.9m cannot become acceptable just to suit the economic demands of the developer. SNH suggest that turbines should not be more than one third the height of key landscape features and in the original application said that thought should be given to much smaller turbine heights.
6. There are 35 properties within 2km of the wind farm site and when added to the Corsock Village properties at 2.3km could all suffer from loss of amenity, noise and health impacts, shadow flicker, affected private water supplies and face a reduction in the quality of life and property value.
7. With more wind farms, a new Pylon line would doubtless be needed from Glenlee to Dumfries and on to Harker as previously proposed but shelved.
8. Increased height and increased rotor diameter from 100m to 140m means far more rotor will be visible for every turbine making the rotor sweep far more intrusive into the landscape and highly visible to 35km and beyond including to the Lake District, Solway Firth and South Ayrshire .
9. Dumfries and Galloway Regional Tourism Strategy 2016 – 2020. Tourism is worth £302m to the local economy supporting 7,000 jobs and is central to the economic and social sustainability of the area. Dumfries and Galloway with its inspiring, distinctive and unique natural environment, rich and diverse landscape should attract visitors to stay, return and recommend to others. Wind farms degrade the landscape that visitors come to see, destroying tourism.
10. Constraint payments are made to wind farms when the infrastructure cannot handle the winds’ fluctuating supply. Scottish onshore wind received more than £700 million in constraint payments to turn wind turbines off over the last decade, discarding 8.7 TWh of electricity. This quantity of energy would be sufficient to provide 90% of all Scottish households with electricity for a year. Along with Community Benefits these Constraint payments are paid for by us out of our own taxes and electricity bills, which has left 898,000 families in fuel poverty. No wind farms should be consented until infrastructure is in place to balance winds unpredictability.
11. This proposal is non-compliant with the DGWLCS and would have unacceptable significant adverse impacts including:- landscape and visual impacts, cumulative impact, ecological impact on protected species and habitat, impacts on residential amenity including noise, impact on tourism and recreational interest.
12. Traffic disruption would be caused particularly to Parton and Crossmichael by the estimated 5,804 HGV journeys during the construction of the development, up to 90 additional vehicle movements per day.
13. The clear felling of 122 hectares of forest will destroy a valuable carbon sink, biodiversity and habitats and the stabilising mechanism against erosion and flooding, and adversely affect the landscape character.
Covid 19 has taught us the true value of green spaces for physical and mental wellbeing.
It is time to stop any further destruction of the D&G Landscape.
Please refuse this application.
Signature –
Name –
Address –
Date –
0 Comments