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Council to take legal action against Scottish Government over windfarm proposal
Credit: Iain Ramage · 27 March 2025 · news.stv.tv ~~
Highland Council is to seek a judicial review against the Scottish Government for overruling a public inquiry into a windfarm proposal.
The independent inquiry recommended refusal of the Strath Oykel scheme in a special area of conservation at Rosehall in Sutherland before ministers overruled the decision.
Councillors, who met in Inverness on Thursday, have decided to pursue the legal challenge, claiming the government is in breach of its own planning framework.
Turbines up to 660ft tall are proposed by Energiekontor.
The community is already facing the prospect of giant turbines encircling the village because of a proliferation of windfarms.
The various projects could ultimately result in 171 turbines being built within ten miles.
The independent inquiry into the Strath Oykel scheme accepted public concerns about the cumulative impact of the towers and fears about potential pollution of pristine waters inhabited by critically endangered pearl mussels.
The government agency NatureScot has promised mitigation measures including “buffer strips along watercourses, dams to prevent sediment entering watercourses, appropriate drainage and treatment for any discharge and steps to protect ground disturbance from vehicle movements.”
Tisi Dutton of campaign group No RFing of Steel said: “They’re the wrong developments in the wrong place which directly contravenes the national planning framework 4 document, on which a lot of these judgements are based.”
B&B owner Jackie Fisher said: “There’s going to be about 200 lorries going past our property every day which is going to pretty much ruin the peacefulness.
“It’s ruining our business, pretty much. That’s what we are afraid of.”
Scottish Government ministers say the potential impact of proposed development has been “appropriately assessed and largely mitigated by design.”
STV News has approached the developers Energiekontor for comment.
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