March 14, 2011
Scotland

Residents urged over windfarm plan

By Catriona Webster, The Press and Journal, www.pressandjournal.co.uk 14 March 2011

Campaigners have called on Aberdeenshire residents to protest against a proposed windfarm on land where similar plans were recently rejected.

Renewable Energy Ventures wants to erect three 325ft turbines on land west of Blackhills Farm, Cushnie.

The Scottish Government threw out an appeal by Cushnie Wind Energy last year, after a seven-turbine project at nearby Pressendye was turned down by councillors in 2009.

Objectors said their relief had turned to dismay after learning of the fresh application.

A new group called Stop Turbines in Cushnie (STiC) was set up last month in protest.

Chairwoman Caroline Gerrie, of Blackhills Farm, Cushnie, said yesterday: “This isn’t nimbyism.

“It is about the severe impact this development would have not just on my way of life, but also on the lives of people living in the 70 homes in the area. We will all suffer.

“It is extraordinary that no neighbour notification was given and that we found out about the application by accident.

“This leaves us with very little time to put together a comprehensive and reasoned objection.

“STiC has been set up to try to get as many people as possible to object to the project and to protect the landscapes that walkers, riders, cyclists, nature lovers and tourists from all over the world hold dear.

“We hope that people will rally to our cause.”

She said campaigners were concerned about the impact of the turbines on the landscape and wildlife.

Earlier this month, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MSP Mike Rumbles criticised the developers for submitting a new planning application so soon after the last was refused.

He said Aberdeenshire councillors had sent out a clear message in unanimously rejecting the previous application, and called the fresh plans “cynical and outrageous”.

In an environmental statement accompanying the application, the developer says the site has been chosen because it meets all of the technical requirements and has a relatively low environmental impact.

It adds: “We believe the proposal is consistent with the government’s renewable energy policy which includes a specific aim of promoting the interests of the rural economy.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/03/14/residents-urged-over-windfarm-plan/