SINCE MY LAST UPDATE (Newsletter 29, pp1-2), a lot has happened and will continue to happen in the saga of windfarm applications in the Ochils. Without doubt it was a disaster that the Reporter decided to uphold the appeal by Scottish Power for a windfarm of 18 turbines at Green Knowes, Glendevon. This decision will result in a windfarm on a highly prominent skyline, visible from many different parts of the Ochils and beyond, but unfortunately such considerations cut no ice with the Reporter.
When you consider that the landscape consultant giving evidence on behalf of Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) stated in his precognition at the Public Inquiry (PI) that "The experience of the landscape on the hilltops would change dramatically, from a perceived experience of tranquillity, peacefulness, remoteness and to some extent wildness, to one dominated by the presence of the large turbine machines with their moving blades", one wonders just what evidence has to be presented to the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit (SEIRU) about the damage that windfarms will do to our precious landscape before they start to take notice. Third parties, including FotO, did their best to get this application refused, but to no avail. For those who took part in the public inquiry the decision was a particularly bitter blow, but we have picked ourselves up and the fight goes on.
In the meantime, Scottish Power has already begun to carve tracks across the hills in preparation for the building of the massive turbines. How a reputable company with the word Scottish in its title can give its name to the industrialisation of the Ochils landscape to the detriment of all those who love these hills is beyond the comprehension of most people.
No doubt they are going ahead because it is "good for business" and it is possible for them to make millions from the scheme, but would they be doing it if government had not created, through the Renewables Obligation, the opportunity to make big bucks? However, it is not too late for Scottish Power to recognise their responsibility to Scotland and its countryside by not going ahead with the scheme.
Following the Green Knowes decision, six appealed applications remained, all of which were due to go to public inquiry. They were made up of the second application for Green Knowes plus the applications at Knowehead, Little Law, Snowgoat Glen, Mellock Hill and Lochelbank. (The application for wind turbines at Tillyrie that was turned down by PKC was not appealed, and neither has a revised application been submitted to the council.) The pre-inquiry meeting for the six PIs was held in Perth in May and the subsequent note of the meeting laid out the ground rules and timetable for the inquiries. Six site-specific sessions were to be held starting in October to be followed by a conjoined session in February/March 2007 to consider the cumulative-impact issues along with more generic issues that applied to all six applications.
However, first of all the appeal for 24 wind turbines at Knowehead was withdrawn by British Energy Renewables. Subsequently, once it was apparent that no aggrieved person or party had applied to have the Green Knowes decision referred to the Court of Session, Scottish Power withdrew their second application for a windfarm at Green Knowes. This has resulted in the four remaining applications going to public inquiry, with the first site-specific session for Snowgoat Glen starting on 21 November.
Work has already begun on preparing for these PIs. Strong local groups are preparing to appear as Relevant Persons at the Mellock Hill and Lochelbank inquiries, whilst third-party objections at the Little Law and Snowgoat Glen public inquiries will be made by independent witnesses but not by Relevant Person groups.
For the conjoined session, a Relevant Person group will be formed by FotO, the Ramblers Association, Friends of Rural Kinross and local groups. At this session we will vigorously oppose any further windfarms in the Ochils. If Scottish Power decide to build at Green Knowes we are already going to have to suffer one windfarm in the Ochils, and the cumulative impact of that with any other windfarms would be totally unacceptable. One windfarm in the Ochils is one too many, but we will do our best to keep it to one! And if Scottish Power see sense, that one could come down to none. I repeat - the Ochils are not the place for industrial-sized windfarms.
At the time of writing, the application for a windfarm at Burnfoot Hill has still to be considered by Clackmannanshire Council. Furthermore, we don't know what the officers will recommend to the Regulatory Committee, but of course everybody is hoping that they will recommend refusal and that that decision will be supported by the council. There have been over 100 objections from many individuals and organisations, including a powerful objection by Scottish Natural Heritage. Their response to the other applications in the Ochils has been somewhat mixed, but in the case of Burnfoot Hill their objections are strong and unequivocal. They object to the proposal due to "the unacceptable adverse landscape, visual and recreational impacts of the scheme on its own" and "...of this proposal in combination with the consented Green Knowes windfarm scheme". They also have serious concerns about the proposed routeing of an underground grid connection down the scarp face of the Ochils to Alva.
SNH's concerns are reflected in our objections and those of many others, and therefore we sincerely hope that the councillors will refuse the application. Not to do so would indicate a very negative attitude towards the Ochils on the part of Clackmannanshire Council, one very much at odds with the strong views they have expressed about the Beauly to Denny powerline and the efforts they are making to promote the Ochils through such projects as the Ochils Landscape Initiative.
So what sense can we make of what is happening to the Ochils? The doomsday scenario that could result in perhaps three or four windfarms in the Ochils plus the powerline across the western end of the hills is still a possibility, but such an outcome would show a massive and cynical contempt for the Ochils landscape on the part of government - and let's not kid ourselves, it is both the UK and Scottish governments that at the end of the day are driving these developments. The worst-case scenario would do untold damage to the significant and valued landscape of the Ochils, and for what? It certainly won't make easier the very hard decisions that we are all going to have to make to combat global warming, but in the meantime we will have destroyed a beautiful range of hills. No doubt once that has happened the backlash that we are beginning to experience with the Braes of Doune windfarm will occur, but it will all be too late.
However, for groups such as ourselves, the effort involved in opposing what is happening is massive. The ability of third-party objectors to organise and sustain opposition both to the many applications to local authorities and at the subsequent public inquiries requires resources that are being stretched to the limit. In the meantime, the various developers are able to afford the best legal advice and expert witnesses, and, through a process of attrition, wear down individuals, communities and organisations such as FotO. The recently published draft Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 6; Renewable Energy (to which the FotO has responded) says all the right things about the importance of community participation in planning for renewable energy but then all the odds are stacked against those communities when they oppose a windfarm. How can any group of individuals sustain the required level of involvement to combat what is happening in the Ochils? Nine planning applications to local authorities followed by a succession of PIs spread over many months, and held during the day when many people are at work involves an impossible level of effort. A serious "democratic deficit" is arising in the planning process as a result.
In the meantime, we can do our best to keep up the pressure on government to see sense and ask that all concerned ensure that if the Green Knowes development does go ahead it remains the only blot on the Ochils landscape. If in any way you feel that you can help with the fight against windfarms in the Ochils, then please get in touch.
A couple of photographs of the Braes of Doune windfarm, half-built as we go to the press (photos: David Gordon)
If the various Green Knowes, Burnfoot etc applications get the go-ahead, the Ochils will end up looking like this.