This website uses cookies for anonymised analytics and for account authentication. See our privacy and cookies policies for more information.





The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Trust challenges government on huge Highlands windfarm

This news post is over 9 years old
 

​Conservation body challenges government over windfarm development in Highlands

A conservation charity is going to the Court of Session in an attempt to block a 67-turbine wind farm planned for the Monadhliath mountains in the Highlands.

The John Muir Trust said it had lodged the petition asking for a judicial review because energy minister Fergus Ewing granted consent without a public inquiry.

In the absence of proper democratic scrutiny, our trustees feel we had no choice but to seek a judicial review of the decision

The body says the decision was taken in the face of opposition from the government’s own advisory body, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and from the Cairngorm National Park Authority as well as three out of the four local councillors in Strathspey and Badenoch.

Written objections to the development from the public outnumbered supporting letters by a margin of almost 15 to 1, said the trust.

John Hutchison, chairman of the John Muir Trust, said: “This is the largest-ever wind farm approved in the Highlands, and was opposed by both the government’s own advisory body on nature and landscape, SNH and by the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

“Because of the scale of the development, and the breadth of opposition to it, we believe it should have been the subject of a public local inquiry.

"In the absence of proper democratic scrutiny, our trustees feel we had no choice but to seek a judicial review of the decision.

“The trust is now seeking donations to help us take forward this legal action.”

Developer SSE Renewables said the wind farm could generate enough electricity to power 114,000 homes.

SSE also said it would bring £30m-worth of benefits to the region.

 

Comments

0 0
Noel Darlow
over 9 years ago
Wind turbines have to go where the wind is and this will inevitably mean significant developments in upland areas designated as "wild" land.I find it quite shocking that an alleged conservation organisation like the JMT should oppose the expansion of low-carbon energy production on the extraordinarily selfish grounds that wind farms might spoil the view. Turbines are temporary structures with low impact on the environment - many orders of magnitude less than the environmental effects of unmitigated climate change which, for example, threatens many species across the globe - enough to qualify as a potential mass extinction event.
Commenting is now closed on this post