January 28, 2013
Scotland

Ascog owners urge Bute turbine re-think

The Buteman | 28 January 2013 | www.buteman.co.uk

The owners of an A-listed property in Ascog on Bute’s east coast have appealed to Historic Scotland to look again at its decision not to object to plans for a wind farm near their home.

John and Yvonne Thomas, who purchased Balmory House in 2010, say they are “shocked and disappointed” at the government body’s decision not to object to proposals for three turbines, each 74 metres high to blade tip, at nearby Ascog Farm.

Historic Scotland, through its senior heritage management officer Robin Campbell, decided last month not to object to the proposal on the grounds that the visual impact on nearby listed properties would not be significant.

Writing to Mr Campbell in a letter dated January 23, Mr and Mrs Thomas state: “We know that we cannot live next to turbines of this size, the setting will no longer feel peaceful and we know that we will have difficulty attracting visitors to stay next to huge moving industrial structures of this kind.”

The Thomases state that they will move away and probably will not be able to sell their property, and that the nearby Ascog Fernery has already lost a sale due to the proposition of the turbines.

Their request for a re-think follows a similar appeal made by Mount Stuart Trust factor Andrew Nicol to Historic Scotland on January 17.

The Thomases’ letter concludes: “We humbly ask that Historic Scotland take another, and more detailed, look at this application, and in particular a closer look at the visual impact, not only on Balmory House and Mount Stuart, but the potential damage to the large number of outstanding and listed properties within such close proximity to this industrial scale proposal.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/01/28/ascog-owners-urge-bute-turbine-re-think/