April 20, 2013
Scotland

Complaint lodged against South Ayrshire Council over windfarm bid handling

20 Apr 2013 | www.ayradvertiser.com20 Apr 2013 | www.ayradvertiser.com

PNW Wind UK, the developer behind a proposed wind farm near Girvan, has lodged an official complaint at the manner in which the application was handled by planners.

The company says it is ‘extremely concerned’ at the criticism by panel councillors of its consultation process with the local community which has been on-going for the past two years.

At the panel meeting on March 21 when permission was rejected, several councillors referred to the Scottish Government’s Planning Advice Note 47 – which was drawn up back in 1996 – which states discussions on the planning merits of cases between developers and community councils were strongly discouraged.

But PNE Wind UK insist the 1996 guidelines are “outdated” and “no longer sound.”

They point out they have been overtaken by new Scottish Government Planning Advice Notes published in 2007 and 2010 which clearly state it is a mandatory requirement for community councils to be involved in the pre-application process. See this week’s paper for the full story.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/04/20/complaint-lodged-against-south-ayrshire-council-over-windfarm-bid-handling/