News Release
For immediate release
A Blunt Message to Windfarm Developers
Ramblers Association Scotland today welcomed the decision by Deputy Enterprise Minister, Allan Wilson, to turn down the proposed development of 24 Windturbines, each over 100 metres high, on the hills above Crieff, Perthshire. The Minister's decision was in support of the Public Inquiry Reporter's recommendation to refuse consent.
Campaign and Policy Coordinator with Ramblers Scotland, Ian McCall, said:
"The Minister's decision sends a clear signal to windfarm developers. We now expect most planning applications for 100 metre plus turbines in the Scottish hills to be rejected. These industrial monsters will not fit into most Scottish landscapes - their place is well offshore."
Ian McCall also noted the landscape significance of this rejection:
"It is very significant that this planning application covered hills that did not enjoy the protection of any special landscape designations. The excellent Inquiry Report makes clear that these large, intrusive developments are extremely difficult to accommodate within areas like Abercairney - in other words, in most of the Scottish hills."
Ian McCall concluded:
"At long last the Government appears ready to constrain the relentless march of giant wind turbines across our world famous landscapes. We now need, as a matter of urgency, new policy guidance which makes clear that virtually all land based turbines in future must be under 50 metres in height to the vertical blade tip and located on land of minimal heritage value. This must be coupled with new financial incentives which give much more help to local communities, farmers and crofters to develop small scale schemes while at the same time stripping away the existing financial support from the multinational energy companies who are attacking our landscapes with their 100 metre plus turbines."
"Alan Wilson is to be congratulated on a sensible planning decision today. Now he needs to use his influence on UK Energy Ministers to completely rewrite the Renewables Obligation so that the public funding support for onshore wind energy development is used to help public need not commercial greed."
