February 12, 2013
Scotland

John Muir Trust urge council to object to Dalnessie and Glenmorie Wind Farms

12/02/2013 | The Northern Times | www.northern-times.co.uk

The Highland Council’s North Planning Committee will today be discussing the Glenmorie and Dalnessie wind farm development applications.

The John Muir Trust claims that, if allowed to proceed, the turbines will be erected on areas of valuable wild land with serious consequences for the scenic beauty and wildlife of the northern Highlands.

Dalnessie, north of Lairg, contains nesting sites for three per cent of the United Kingdom’s total black-throated diver population, they say, while the Glenmorie development would be visible from the Dornoch Firth, and from Ben Wyvis and the surrounding mountains.

As a statutory consultee, before the application goes to the Scottish Government, the North Planning Committee has the power to object and force a public local inquiry.

Fraser Wallace, Policy Officer of the John Muir Trusts says: “Dalnessie is an important habitat for the rare and vulnerable black-throated diver, a bird with stunning plumage which breeds on relatively undisturbed wild sites.

“A wind development at Glenmorie would impinge on the views from several peaks famous in the mountaineering community.

“Highland Council must not allow the disfigurement of this landscape with large scale industrial structures in these two areas.

“Wild land needs protection from commercial vandalism, for its own sake and for the sake of tourism which generates 14 per cent of all jobs in the Highlands.

“It is vital that the North Planning Committee take the right decision today and raise an official objection, which would allow the proposals to be subject to proper public scrutiny.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/02/12/john-muir-trust-urge-council-to-object-to-dalnessie-and-glenmorie-wind-farms/