Two wind turbines planned for a site in central Caithness have been branded “monstrosities” by nearby residents who have joined forces to form a protest group.
They say the proposed Swarclett Wind Farm will be within 800 metres of some properties in the Bowertower area and will have an unacceptable impact in terms of visual impact and noise.
“Proposals such as this should never see the light of day,” one resident declared, adding that the level of concern inflicted on Bowertower householders “seems inhuman”.
Renewable energy company Wind2 wants to build two turbines, each with a maximum blade-tip height of 149.9m, on land between Bower and Durran. A battery energy storage system is also part of the development.
Residents have set up a campaign called No to Swarclett with its own website and Facebook group which has 86 members. They claim support for the scheme is being targeted in Castletown, several miles away from the development site, through promises of community benefit.
Local resident Tony Shaw said: “They have no shame basically in recruiting people from a bigger place when in fact the people that are being affected are in fact in the smaller place, and that’s exactly the situation we’re in.
“I have a real fear that they’re basically concentrating on generating support in Castletown so they can claim ‘we’ve got so much support’.
“We’re a tiny community. There are 10 properties within 1500 metres, of which four are only about 800 metres away. There’s another five more off the Bowertower road, and that’s it.”
Another resident, Daniel Hopwood, said: “In our view, proposals such as this should never see the light of day. This is no major step on the road to net-zero – it is simply a commercial venture between a landowner and a wind farm company with the aim of making money for themselves.
“The concern and worry it has already inflicted on the residents of the Bowertower area seems inhuman.” https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/bowertower-residents-take-up-fight-against-wind-turbine-mon-348030/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1bCQ8EHYtbpDziyvD4N3RC6Xawio-nfFgihMIo6OUHVPKWgmuxPLc8tXk_aem_ATuptnodAeaqyeHMTIm0z7QAsUuXfLTaXRTpoOzzJAlC0ZLA6zk2g7BnzCPmkQIMoZ2IXk2EUmpMvsQ67tNBGHGz
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