Following Argyll & Bute Council’s 22.05.2013 refusal of planning permission for turbines at Ascog Farm an appeal against the decision has been lodged with the Scottish Government’s Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) which deal with such matters.
The Grounds for Appeal submitted by SAC Consulting and AMEC (336KB PDF) draw attention to the Council’s reliance on its Landscape Wind Energy Capacity Study (LWECS) which, broadly, dismisses turbine developments over 50m to tip throughout practically the entire region excepting a small area in Kintyre. Islands, apparently, should not have anything over 20m to tip despite the existence of great resources from sea winds and other successful existing community installations on Argyll & Bute islands Gigha and Tiree. Argyll & Bute Council is Scotland’s second largest local authority and one of the windiest regions not only in Britain but in North Western Europe.
Adrian’s own Letter or Representation to the Scottish Government is reproduced below:
This letter was submitted to the DPEA along with:
- Yield estimates for Enercon E48 turbines.
- Yield estimates for Enercon E44 turbines.
- Developing an onshore wind farm on Bute – an experiential perspective on policy and planning
The Reporter allocated to the case is Mr R.M.Hickman and the DPEA target date for completion of the report is 08.11.2013.
Let’s hope that the Reporter will reach a different conclusion to Argyll & Bute Council and support development of renewable energy at this exceptionally windy site.