Anti windfarm protest planned

PROTESTORS will gather outside Dumfries and Galloway Council HQ tomorrow morning in a bid to get a windfarm turned down. Members of ‘Hands Off Our Hills’ will be demonstrating against the proposal for the Glenvernoch Wind Farm from EnergieKontor. They say it is an industrial scale windfarm on virgin peat land at Glenvernoch in the Cree Valley. Planning officers have recommended it should be refused, and the campaigners are calling on councillors to follow that advice. Donna Stewart, from ‘Hands Off Our Hills’ said: “This application would scar one of the most valued landscapes in Dumfries and Galloway, undermine our tourism economy, and put our environment at risk. The refusal of Hill of Ochiltree on almost identical grounds shows why this site is unsuitable. "If Glenvernoch were to be accepted, it would set a dangerous precedent that could open the door for further large-scale developments such as Blair Hill and Shennanton. Dumfries and Galloway’s own LDP2 makes it absolutely clear that the Cree Valley is not suitable for turbines, and councillors must now uphold both policy and professional advice by rejecting this destructive proposal.” And she encouraged others to join them at 9.30 am in English Street to also demonstrate support for protecting the region’s landscapes and communities.