Sadly, but hardly unexpectedly, Argyll & Bute Council’s planning department have recommended refusal of our plans for three mid-sized community benefit wind turbines at Ascog Farm.
Those pesky turbines! How can we build them where we cannot see them?
We, along with Argyll & Bute’s elected Councillors, will digest the report which, on initial reading, suggests that concerns about views are the only reason for refusal.
Given over 50 other wind turbines can be seen from various locations around the farm – indicating if nothing else that there is a very good wind resource locally – it seems a little perplexing that the potential to maximise yields by building sensibly sized and efficient wind turbines should be ruled out because Bute is an island and hence cannot accommodate anything over 20m in height to blade tip.
Perhaps the planners want to see an application for twenty smaller turbines? Perhaps the Councillors will wonder why their own Landscape Wind Energy Capacity Study appears to deny the possibility of building turbines practically anywhere within the Argyll & Bute Council area, the second largest and one of the least populated in Scotland with some of North West Europe’s best wind conditions? Perhaps the Scottish Government, which aims to support the generation of 500MW of community or locally-owned renewable energy by 2020, will take a different view?
We shall see… First step a meeting at 11:15 on 22 May 2013 at the Council offices in Lochgilpead before a probable Hearing in Rothesay at some future date.