September 14, 2017
Scotland

Romans help see off new wind farm plan

Caluke Gazette | Thursday 14 September 2017 | www.carlukegazette.co.uk

Romans who once bridged the Clyde have helped rural Clydesdale residents in their battle against a wind farm.

Councillors have turned down plans for a wind farm at Little Gill, Abington, partly because it would affect the setting of a Roman fortlet at the foot of Wandel Hill, close to where its builders once controlled the crossing of the River Clyde.

Detailed plans, by Priestgill Wind Farm, with Muirhall Energy as agent, attracted 70 letters of objection and 83 in support.

The plans were for seven turbines up to 145m tall, along with foundations, a new bell mouth off the A702 and access tracks on around 304 hectares of land currently used for upland grazing.

The site is 1.5km away from the massive Clyde wind farm, and objectors cited the cumulative effect of more turbines in their letters.

Councillors at a planning committee meeting last month were told residents had concerns about a further development near the Clyde wind farm, albeit on a smaller scale that would have an impact on them and the valley.

There were also concerns about the effect the turbines would have on the settings of two ancient monuments, Arbory hill fort and Wandel Roman fortlet and camp.

Planning officials found that the application was contrary to the terms of Scottish planning policy for a number of reasons.

They stated that the development, in view of its scale and location, would lead to localised significant adverse effects on the landscape, including the south western area of the Upper Clyde Valley and Tinto special landscape area and that it would lead to “unacceptable cumulative sequential views of wind farm development”, with an adverse effect on people in the surrounding residential properties, the community of Abington and Roberton and on visitors to the area, and the local area, and that it would compromise the setting of the two scheduled monuments.

It would also have a detrimental impact on tourism and recreation.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/09/14/romans-help-see-off-new-wind-farm-plan/