Eaglesham wind turbine proposal blown off by council

Credit: Jonathon Reilly, Junior Reporter | Barrhead News | www.barrheadnews.com ~~

A plan to erect a 60m high wind turbine on land at Polnoon Farm in Eaglesham has been quashed by East Renfrewshire Council.

The council’s Planning Applications Committee took less than three minutes to reach its decision to uphold a previous recommendation and refuse planning permission to York-based renewable electricity company Green Power Consultants.

Planning permission for the turbine, the blades for which would have spanned to 86.4m, would also have included the erection of a substation building, the formation of a track to allow access to the site from nearby Millhall Road and an area for a car park.

The committee, made up of Chair Kenny Hay, Provost Alastair Carmichael and Councillors Barbara Grant, Gordon McCaskill and Paul O’Kane, all came to a unanimous agreement at the council chambers meeting on Wednesday, March 9 and echoed the points made in the Director of Environment’s assessment last week.

It agreed that the proposed development would have an adverse visual impact on the site and its surrounding area and would be visually prominent because of its location.

Councillors concluded there were no options available to lessen this impact and opted to reject the proposal as it failed to comply with three adopted East Renfrewshire Local Development Plan policies set out by the Director of Environment’s initial assessment, namely:

· Policy D1 which requires that all development should not result in a significant loss of character to the area and that development should be of a size and scale that is in keeping with the buildings in the locality.

· Policy D3 which states greenbelt development will be strictly controlled to that which is required, should be appropriate to the rural area, and should respect the character of the area.

· Policy E1 which supports renewable energy proposals in appropriate locations and which adheres to principles set out by the Scottish Planning Policy and the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan.

Last year The News reported there were 45 turbines constructed or in the planning process within 5km of Uplawmoor, varying in height from 12m to 110m.

Of which 24 were operational, while 13 were approved and seven applications had been received, as well as one appeal.

Source: Jonathon Reilly, Junior Reporter | Barrhead News | www.barrheadnews.com

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