May 7, 2008
Scotland
Scotland
Councillors have rejected an application for a 14-turbine wind farm for Highland Perthshire.
They decided the scheme proposed for Calliacher, near Aberfeldy, would be too visually intrusive.
The council’s development quality manager had recommended the conditional approval of the plans, stating that any other decision would be “unjustified.”
Developers I and H Brown said they were “surprised” by the outcome and would take legal advice on a possible appeal.
The decision comes just three months after the Scottish Government gave the go-ahead to the nearby 68-turbine Griffin wind farm.
Councillor John Kellas told the BBC Scotland News website that the two projects together would have been too much.
He said: “It was viewed as a stage too far, that the visual impact was even greater than looking at the wind farm at Griffin.
“The wind farm at Griffin is in a forested area, whereas this one was much more prominent on the hillside and could be viewed from places like Schiehallion, Lawers and so forth.”
Mr Kellas said he believed the potential commercial benefits of the wind farm would have been offset by the detrimental impact on tourism.
But Scott Brown, managing director of I and H Brown, said he was: “Very surprised and disappointed with the council’s decision.”
“This will lead to unnecessary cost and delay in bringing the project to fruition,” he added.
“We shall now take advice from our legal and planning advisors regarding the question of making an appeal.”
7 May 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/05/07/councillors-reject-wind-farm-plan/