April 8, 2011
Scotland

Turbines plan would ‘impinge’ on town

By Stephen Christie, The Press and Journal, www.pressandjournal.co.uk 8 April 2011By Stephen Christie, The Press and Journal, www.pressandjournal.co.uk 8 April 2011

Two massive quayside wind turbines planned for Peterhead would “impinge upon the historic core” of the town, environment chiefs warned.

Peterhead Port Authority wants to erect a pair of 330ft masts on industrial land at Keith Inch and Green Hill.

The devices would be three times the size of the port’s shiplift building and would generate enough electricity to power thousands of homes.

Aberdeenshire Council environment officer Hamish Robertson says the proposal would be “detrimental” to the character of Peterhead’s central conservation zone.

In a report sent to local authority planning officials, Mr Robertson says: “The shiplift is already a dominant and overbearing presence within the enclosed historic space that is Broad Street.

“The introduction of further overbearing features would result in a further erosion of its historic quality.”
conservation

He adds: “Clearly this development will impinge upon the historic core of Peterhead in a major way.

“The turbines will be on view frequently and from a variety of locations within the Peterhead conservation area.

“I cannot imagine that any measure could be suggested to mitigate the negative impacts of this development.”

Port authority chief executive John Wallace said he respected the comments, but added: “This is an opportunity to give us a return in the region of £750,000 a year.

“If we can maintain the port for 25 years from wind passing our door then we would be derelict in our duty not to attempt to do so.”

Mr Wallace said some of the profits would be pumped into a trust to support ventures including Peterhead Projects and the community council.

The public has until April 21 to comment on the application before it is considered by local authority officials. If the £6million scheme wins the backing of councillors, the 2.3MW turbines could be in place by autumn next year.

The plan is part of the port authority’s attempts to diversify and tap into the renewables industry.

According to Scotland’s National Renewables Infrastructure Plan, Peterhead is one of the best locations for a wind turbine project.