September 4, 2012
Scotland

60m mast at Ayton gets the go ahead

The Berwickshire News | www.berwickshirenews.co.uk 4 September 2012

Wind farm company Energie Konto UK Ltd have successfully appealed a planning decision and now have permission to erect a 60m meteorological mast at Prenderguest Farm, Ayton.

Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee had refused permission for the mast because its scale and height would have an intrusive and unacceptable landscape and visual impact on the surrounding landscape, plus the loss of prime agricultural land.

The meteorological mast is to establish the viability of a wind farm on the site, which developers say is not in an area designated for landscape value but is in lowland open countryside primarily used for farming.

Reporter, David Buylla, who heard the appeal, granted planning permission for the mast, concluding that he was satisfied that there would be no objectionable landscape or visual impact and no conflilct with the provisions of the development pland.

A report by planning officers to the council’s planning committee said: “Refusing permission on the basis of a loss of prime agricultural land could not be justified.

“The fact that the site could be restored to agricultural land within a very short timeframe and with little effort adds weight to his conclusion.”

[Energiekontor UK]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/09/04/60m-mast-at-ayton-gets-the-go-ahead/