March 18, 2011
Scotland

Bid to fly blimp over Clatto windfarm site refused

Fife Today, www.fifetoday.co.uk 18 March 2011

A campaign group’s high hopes of flying a blimp over the site of a proposed windfarm have been dashed.

The Clatto Landscape Protection Group had asked for permission to launch the blimp over Clatto Hill, near Pitlessie, in a bid to demonstrate the impact they believe the seven 120m turbines would have in terms of height and visibility.

But the prospective developers, West Coast Energy, turned down their request, saying that it ‘would not be particularly helpful’ in assessing visual effects.

They said the landscape and visual impact assessment that accompanied the planning application was prepared by professional landscape consultants using national guidelines that did not include flying a blimp.

Undeterred, the Clatto Landscape Protection Group is awaiting a response to another request to fly the blimp over an adjacent site that is the subject of a second application, this time by Green Cat Renewables, for a further three turbines measuring 100m.

They have also produced a 20-page document that they claim exposes ‘glaring errors and ommissions’ in West Coast Energy’s application.

Chairman Greg Brown said: “West Coast Energy want the council to believe that only a few people live on or around Clatto Hill, and that their turbines would hardly be seens because of screening by trees or hills.

“The truth is that over a hundred families live closer than 2km from proposed turbine locations.

“Almost all of them would see the turbines from their homes and as they move around in the locality.

“They would be a relentless overbearing presence and wholly out of scale with the surroundings.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/03/18/bid-to-fly-blimp-over-clatto-windfarm-site-refused/