WITH THE LATEST windfarm application for a development of 13 turbines each 102 metres (336 feet) high at Burnfoot Hill in Clackmannanshire, the pressure from windfarm developers in the Ochils continues. To date, there have been nine applications for eight separate sites. Eight of these applications - two for the Green Knowes site, plus Little Law, Snowgoat Glen, Knowehead, Mellock Hill, Lochelbank and Tillyrie - have come before Perth and Kinross Council (PKC), and to PKC''s credit all have been refused. The Burnfoot Hill application was recently lodged with Clackmannanshire Council and a decision has yet to be made on the proposal.
However, the decision by PKC to refuse the eight applications is not the end of the matter. Seven of the eight applications have been appealed and consequently go to public inquiry. The application for Tillyrie is likely to be resubmitted to PKC in a revised format.
The public inquiry has already been held for the first of the two Green Knowes applications, and a decision by the Reporter is awaited. The other six appealed applications will go to public inquiry later this year. The process will begin with a pre-inquiry meeting on 22 May in Perth with the inquiries being held later in the year between October and December.
Friends of the Ochils was represented at the Green Knowes public inquiry, held over a six-day period in March in Blackford village hall, with closing submissions presented and site visits taking place in April. We formed what, in the jargon of public inquiries, is called a Relevant Persons group in partnership with the Ramblers Association and the Friends of Rural Kinross, and were able not only to present our case but also to cross-examine witnesses giving evidence on behalf of the developer, Scottish Power. In addition to this, a number of independent third-party witnesses from the local Glendevon community gave evidence to the inquiry against the development. The Relevant Persons group focused primarily on the landscape and recreational amenity issues, but other objectors dealt with matters such as noise, heritage, water supplies etc.
The work of the Relevant Persons group involved the preparation of a Statement of Case, the submission of documents to which we wished to refer during the inquiry, the writing of precognitions to be read at the inquiry and the presentation of the closing submission. In addition, where possible, we coordinated the responses of the independent witnesses. All those involved learnt a lot about the process of public inquiries and this should stand us in good stead for the next six to be held later in the year.
Many of the remaining applications that will go to public inquiry are opposed by local groups set up to campaign against a particular windfarm. FotO will seek to work closely with these groups so that we can develop strategies for the public inquiries that are as effective as possible. In addition, we will seek to work closely, as we did at the first Green Knowes public inquiry, with like-minded groups such as the Ramblers Association and the Friends of Rural Kinross.
Which brings us to the latest application, for a windfarm at Burnfoot Hill - yet another area of the Ochils which would be damaged by a totally inappropriate industrial-scale windfarm development. The site lies about a mile to the north of Ben Cleuch and the turbines would dominate the central part of the Ochils. The sheer size of the turbines would be totally out of scale with the surrounding hills and would destroy the sense of peace and quiet of the precious hinterland behind the southern scarp slope of the Ochils.
The application has been submitted by a company called Wind Prospect. (See http://www.windprospect.com/sites/burnfoothill.html) The turbines would be visible not only from an area within the Ochils from Mickle Corum and Blairdenon Hill in the west to Mellock Hill and Craig Rossie in the east, but from a huge swathe of country to the north stretching from Perth to Callender. Anyone walking the spine of the Ochils would have the turbines in view over a wide stretch of country, thus altering radically their enjoyment of that experience.
Also, the development would require the upgrading of roads into the site - in particular the attractive narrow track that comes off the A823 in Glendevon. This would be widened in many places with new bridges and culverts, and tracks would have to be bulldozed over Burnfoot Hill itself.
Wind Prospect is proposing that the power from the windfarm comes out along an underground power cable laid south over Ben Buck, across Ben Ever and down the Silver Glen between the Nebit and Wood Hill; something which can only damage the paths and summits along the route.
It is fervently hoped that Clackmannanshire Council will refuse this application, thereby reflecting the decisions taken by PKC in relation to other Ochils windfarm applications. As reported below, Clackmannanshire Council has already approved a wind-monitoring mast for the site in spite of many written objections and oral representation by FotO at the planning meeting. We were very disappointed the council''s decision, but we are assured it does not imply an assumption in favour of the windfarm application itself. A number of other sites where monitoring masts have been approved through the planning process, such as Mellock Hill and Green Knowes, have had the subsequent windfarm application refused by PKC.
FotO is encouraging as many individuals and organisations who love the wide open spaces and quiet corners, the uninterrupted views and unspoilt landscape of the Ochils, to object to the Burnfoot Hill development. The Ochils are simply too important an asset for the people of central Scotland and beyond for them to be used as sites for industrial-scale windfarms. It sometimes feels as if the Ochils are under siege by the developers, and that there is a madness about what is happening. A lot of anger and disbelief is being generated that such a beautiful range of hills can be treated in this way. However, at the end of the day, these applications are going through a planning process which, however flawed, is the one which is being used by local authorities and government to determine where windfarms are situated. We therefore have to respond to the authorities with objections that both reflect our passion for the Ochils but which also contain reasoned planning arguments. It is on the basis of such arguments that councils can refuse windfarm applications and by which public inquiries can uphold council decisions.
Maybe a more sensible approach to renewable energy generation will emerge and government will develop strategies that enable an increase in the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources without, at the same time, destroying our beautiful landscapes. Similarly, they may develop strategies that don''t rely on the crazy free-for-all approach with which we are having to cope. However, until such time, there is no alternative but to respond to each and every planning application as it comes forward to the local authorities and fight each in turn. FotO is committed to that task and is doing all it can to can to ensure that these hills are saved from windfarm developers.
Here is the text of our objection to the Wind Prospect mast application, sent to Keith Johnstone at Development Services, Clackmannanshire Council, on 15 February 2006:
Erection of meteorological wind-monitoring mast at land at Burnfoot Hill, Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire. Ref: 06/00010/FULL
Thanks for your letter of 2 February 2005 asking for the observations of Friends of the Ochils on the above application to erect a wind-monitoring mast on Burnfoot Hill.
Friends of the Ochils is an independent Scottish charity, SC022034, formed in 1993 to protect the landscape and character of the Ochil hills. It has some 170 members and one of its main aims is to protect and conserve the landscape, wildlife and natural beauty of the Ochils, along with their historical and social character.
We wish to object in the strongest terms to the erection of a wind-monitoring mast on Burnfoot Hill. This proposal by Wind Prospect Developments Ltd is predicated on their wish to erect a windfarm on the site consisting of 13 huge turbines, each measuring 102 metres to blade-tip. The mast itself, however, is an unacceptable structure to place within the Ochils, and Friends of the Ochils strongly objects to this proposal.
Standing 50 metres (165 feet) high, the mast would be a highly visible intrusion. It would be visible not only from the top of Ben Cleuch, the frequently climbed high-point of the Ochils, but from the whole arc of the main 2000ft/600m ridge of the Ochils stretching from Blairdenon Hill in the west to Tarmangie Hill in the east, and also from the popular Upper Glendevon Reservoir and much of the surrounding countryside. The Ochils comprise the only significant range of hills in the Clackmannanshire Council area, and as such the council should surely be doing everything within its power to protect the high ground.
In particular, it is vital that no intrusive structure is built on or close to the line of 2000ft summits which are visited by hillwalkers from far and near on a daily basis, whether simply for exercise, fresh air and peace and quiet or because they are the only hills in the council area to appear in the lists of Donalds and Grahams, categories of 2000ft hills listed in the well-known Scottish Mountaineering Club publication Munro''s Tables. Yet the proposed Burnfoot Hill mast, with a base height of 1720ft/500m and so reaching up to more than 1850ft, would stand within 2km of the main ridge-line of the Ochils and would undoubtedly mar the view north to the Highland mountains.
Were any 105m turbines ever to be built here, they themselves would breach the 600m/2000ft mark, which would be a ridiculously disproportionate intrusion in a range of hills of this scale. Ben Cleuch is renowned for its uninterrupted views, being one of the most separate hills in the country, but the building of a mast high on its slopes would seriously compromise this reputation. The Ochils deserve better than to become the site of man-made structures such as the proposed mast. They are of regional and national importance, being accessible within an hour''s drive (and by good bus services along the Hillfoots) by some two million people living within central Scotland. They provide many opportunities for walking and other outdoor pursuits, eg picnicking, bird-watching, photography, fell-running, paragliding, skiing and mountain-biking. Clackmannanshire Council''s own Draft Access Strategy Document states that the Ochils "are a striking landmark offering remarkable views across the area." Section 4.1.2 states that: "The area already provides an important recreational resource for both local people and visitors to the area. The importance of the area for tourism is recognised by the Clackmannanshire Tourist Association, which has also noted the scope which the hills provide for enhanced facilities and access opportunities." Sections 4.1.5, 4.1.6 and 4.1.7 refer to the importance of addressing the access issues with the development of a longer-distance network of routes within a framework of responsible access. Friends of the Ochils applauds the way in which Clackmannanshire Council has identified the issues associated with access to the Ochils and the opportunities that arise from this wonderful natural resource. It follows, however, that the Council should do all it can to protect this resource from developments such as the proposed wind-monitoring mast and subsequent windfarms. Any such structures will seriously damage the views, the sense of isolation, the remoteness and the beauty that many thousands associate with the Ochils.
Furthermore, the proposed mast and subsequent windfarm would be within the Ochil hills Area of Great Landscape Value and would adversely impact on the character and appearance of this AGLV. Friends of the Ochils also believes that the proposal is contrary to the existing Development Plan and in particular ENV2: Protected Landscapes and ENV3: Development in the Countryside.
We are pleased to note that the Report to Council on the proposed Beauly to Denny transmission line refers to the damage that the power line would have on the Ochils. However, we would wish to see the arguments against the power line equally applied to other intrusive man-made structures, as any such structures would seriously damage the AGLV.
Finally, we wish to place on record our concerns for global warming and the need to develop alternative sources of energy. However, the current approach - which allows ad hoc windfarm applications along with their associated structures such as wind-monitoring masts to be put before councils and the Scottish Executive - is not the way forward. Wiser counsel needs to prevail so that we achieve desired outcomes without doing untold damage to areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Ochils. Again, we can only agree with the conclusion drawn by the Council''s own officer in his report on the power line proposal: "The Government has recently launched a review of national energy policy. The lack of an up-to-date comprehensive national strategy, covering both energy generation and transmission, is less than satisfactory in providing a proper context for evaluating the principles of the current ad hoc proposals."
Friends of the Ochils therefore wishes to put on record its objection to Planning Application 06/00010/ FULL to erect a wind-monitoring mast on Burnfoot Hill.
The objection - along with those of various other individuals and organisations - failed. On 30 March the Regulatory Committee of Clackmannanshire Council agreed to approve the mast application, subject to the following three conditions:
1 - The meteorological mast hereby approved shall be removed from the site when its use has discontinued, or on the expiry of 18 months from the date of its first installation, whichever is the sooner. Any works required for the reinstatement of the land disturbed by the mast, anchors and access shall be completed within one month following its removal, to the satisfaction of the Council.
2 - Before any works start on the site, the following details shall have been submitted for the consideration and written approval of the Council, as Planning Authority:-
a) A specification of the proposed means of anchoring the mast to the ground.
b) The route and means of transporting the mast and associated apparatus to the site from the private road that serves Backhills Farm during the construction and dismantling process. Thereafter, the mast shall be installed and dismantled in accordance with the approved details.
3 - Before any works start on site, details of the type and nature of bird warning devices to be installed on the guy wires shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Council as Planning Authority. Once approved, the devices shall be installed and maintained on the structure at all times while the mast is erected.