While the SNH mapping of wild land identifies discrete areas of wild land, sometimes close together the absence of buffer zones makes the application of real protection almost impossible. It is disappointing that the Government as not granted these areas statutory protection or is short sighted in not recognising the need for buffer zones.
The management of wind energy developments and the infrastructure necessary to link them to the electricity network needs to be looked at as a whole and not as two separate functions as generation and distribution are in fact all part of the same development. It is a constant concern when Planning Authorities are considering wind farm applications that the infrastructure required to connect them to the National Grid are a separate application as the environmental impacts of both should be considered simultaneously.
The Scottish Government’s proposal to raise the level of protection for National Parks and Scenic Areas is welcome though it must be clear that developments that are outside these areas but impact on them must be subject to stringent tests to assess their potential for harm and protect the qualities that qualify the areas for designation.
NPF3 should also increase the level of protection from wind energy and infrastructure developments afforded to other protected landscapes, including Local Landscape Areas and Designed Landscapes.
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