Moray Council to raise concerns over plans for windfarm extension
Moray Council will raise its concerns with the Scottish Government over plans to extend a Cabrach windfarm by 22 turbines.
The local authority was invited by the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents & Deployment Unit (ECU) to comment on the application by Clashindarroch Wind Farm Extension Ltd for the 881 hectare windfarm extension planned for a site 8km west of Rhynie and 11km south east of Dufftown.
At a special meeting of the Planning and Regulatory Services Committee today (Monday 26 June) councillors agreed the council would not lodge an objection to the application on planning grounds but will raise a suite of significant concerns and ask for a number of conditions to be added to any consent granted.
Councillors accepted the advice of planning officers that defending an objection to the application at a public local inquiry could be costly and unproductive. No refusal of, or objection to, a large wind energy development in Moray on landscape grounds has been supported by the Scottish Government in more than 20 years.
As a consultee, the council will raise its concerns with the Energy Consents Unit and Scottish Ministers. These include: failure of the proposal to sufficiently mitigate landscape and visual effects; lack of detail about roadside tree felling or subsequent compensatory planting; the impact of significant landscape change and amenity impact on the rural community; the appropriateness of the location for battery storage; lack of connectivity for walkers/recreation with the adjoining Clashindarroch windfarm; and the need to avoid areas of deep peat on the site.
Moray Council will also call for a number of the turbines to be removed from the plan for the protection of deep peat, and for the site to be redesigned to mitigate significant impact upon the Upper Deveron valley.
Click here for full planning application details for the development.