January 20, 2014
Scotland

Hawick nursing home’s plan for 334ft wind turbine

The Southern Reporter | 20 January 2014 | www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk

Plans by a care home firm for a wind turbine over 300ft high at Hawick are drawing flak, with one local councillor calling the scheme ridiculous.

Measuring 102m from base to blade tip, the site is just 400m from the northern edge of the town.

The application has been lodged with Scottish Borders Council on behalf of St Andrews Nursing Home – owned by Park Homes.

Consultants stated residents in the town’s Guthrie Drive, less than half-a-kilometre away, would be able to see the bulk of the turbine.

And it would have a “major” impact on the views of walkers on local sections of the nearby Borders Abbeys Way.

Local Scottish Borders councillors Stuart Marshall and Zandra Elliot are unhappy with the proposals.

Mr Marshall says he has already received a number of calls from concerned residents living near the site.

“The area surrounding the convent itself is within a beautiful part of my ward and, to be honest, to erect a 300ft-plus turbine anywhere near this spot just sounds ridiculous,” he said.

And Mrs Elliot added: “I am not particularly in favour of wind turbines, especially 102m high.

“I believe this planning application, if successful, would open the doors to many applications within the outer limits of the town.

“There are enough scars on our beautiful Borderland and this epidemic must be controlled.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/20/hawick-nursing-homes-plan-for-334ft-wind-turbine/