August 29, 2013
Scotland

Concern over Markhill plans

Carrick Gazette | 29 August 2013 | www.carricktoday.co.uk

Pinwherry and Pinmore Community Council have expressed their fears about wind farm extension proposals in the area.

Residents heard from ScottishPower Renewables earlier this month over its plans for the Markhill wind farm. The community council was unsatisfied at the company’s responses to the its objections as SPR could not detail how the community would benefit from the plans.

Residents questioned how the proposal can be described as an extension when it is potentially three times larger than the existing wind farm and it was felt it should be dealt with as a new wind farm application.

The proposals would see the extension to Arecleoch by Kilgallioch reach 96 turbines making it the second largest onshore wind farm.

Residents in the villages say that this proposal and other applications would bring about a large increase in construction traffic along the A714, which was not built to take the current heavy traffic, let alone any increase from construction traffic.

And they hit out at the effect it could have on the area’s tourism, with plans afoot to build a community centre for the two villages and a possible hotel/bunkhouse in the Pinwherry school building.

The view of residents and the community council is that the maximum cumulative impact has been reached in South Carrick and SPR is showing no social responsibility to communities in its quest to build wind farms.

It concluded by saying there are no excuses for more turbines when capacity in a location has been reached and the infringement on the lives of individuals and communities has gone too far.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/08/29/concern-over-markhill-plans/