June 4, 2013
Scotland

Fury over Midlothian windfarm move

Midlothian Advertiser | 4 June 2013 | www.midlothianadvertiser.co.uk

A Midlothian councillor has slammed a developer for the ‘eleventh-hour’ withdrawal of a major planning application.

Councillor Peter de Vink (Ind) is furious at Wind Prospect Developments’ decision to pull its plans for a nine-turbine wind farm at Mount Lothian near Penicuik.

The company has sought more time to carry out statutory consultations, but Councillor de Vink is angry about the inconvenience caused to Midlothian Council’s planning and legal departments and objectors.

He said: “The council has incurred a huge amount of work on this application and for Wind Prospect to pull it at the eleventh hour, just before the pre-determination meeting, is outrageous.

“Many people at the council have been dealing with this application for two years and working long hours to prepare for this meeting.

“All that’s gone now, a complete waste of time.

“The officials will simply have to start this expensive process again – and I find that shocking.

“I told them at the start that this would be a very dirty fight and so it has proved.

“When the developers were being given a hard time, they tried to manipulate public opinion by distributing leaflets and even went in to a local school to take photographs and get endorsement for their green credentials.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/06/04/fury-over-midlothian-windfarm-move/