Beauty spoiled
The Scotsman | 30 December 2013 | www.scotsman.com
I agree with Roger Cox (Weekend Life, 28 December) about wind farms risking Scotland’s wild appeal. When I moved to South Ayrshire, I marvelled at the unspoilt scenery and the beautiful views from the hills around our home. Fast forward ten years and instead of beautiful hills, forests and valleys, all we have to look at are wind turbines.
Shortly after moving in, we were saddled with Hadyard Hill consisting of 52 turbines. Next was Arecleoch with 60 turbines and then Mark Hill with 28. Recently, Assel Valley, consisting of ten turbines, has been granted planning permission against the wishes of the local community and South Ayrshire Council. Added to this, Tralorg wind farm is in the lap of the Scottish Government Reporter and we are now faced with planning applications for another four major wind farms, plus a massive extension to Mark Hill, which is bigger than the original wind farm itself and an already consented Kilgallioch, which will consist of 98 turbines and will be erected close to Arecleoch. All these turbines will be visible from the paths that are used by locals and tourists alike and yet if they look at the website for the area, all they will read about is the stunning scenery on offer.
What stunning scenery? There will be none left very soon and tourists will be unable to take a photograph without an ugly wind farm in the background – as Visit Scotland seems to manage. When are the websites and tourist information centres going to be honest and tell people what to expect? This scenario is being repeated all over Scotland. So much for the year of natural Scotland.
We know that, unless we are quick, the parts of Scotland we haven’t seen yet will soon lose their appeal and natural beauty. Wake up Scotland; your natural heritage is fast disappearing.
Kim Terry
Pinmore
South Ayrshire
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/12/30/beauty-spoiled/