Windfarm battles are never-ending

A CONSTANT battle against windfarm developments has descended into a “war of attrition” in the Stewartry, villagers claimed this week.

Corsock and Kirkpatrick Durham Community Council members have hit out ahead of yet another row over planning permission for turbines.

They claim that 93 percent of residents in the area are opposed to further windfarm development locally.

It comes after serial planning applicants, Energiekontor, launched yet another bid for changes to its windfarm proposals – seeking bigger turbines.

The German firm has previously been accused of “gaming the system” for regularly tinkering with developments which already have planning permission.

This week, the company will be back in front of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s planning committee, requesting permission to increase the height at Fell Windfarm from 130m to 220m.

In their objection, the community council stated: “We have previously completed a community survey, seeking views on the development of further windfarms within the Corsock and KPD area.

“Ninety-three percent of respondents confirmed that they did not wish to see further windfarm development in the area.

“Ongoing community engagement confirms that the conclusions of this survey remain valid.”

The group highlighted the current situation whereby a single developer has eight windfarm proposals in the local area, adding: “When combining this with other developers, it highlights the challenge for a group of volunteers on the community council to effectively input into development proposals, and for the wider public to effectively keep abreast of developments.

“The wider community are completely bewildered at how to respond to or input their views. The number of representations you receive on these planning change requests does not effectively represent local opinions on this issue.

“It has been commented that this is more a ‘war of attrition’ than a reasonable process for seeking community engagement and consent for planning.

“By submitting these change requests to increase the size of turbines under the existing planning approval, alongside the fourth application for the Garcrogo site, Energiekontor has demonstrated that it has no concern for local residents and their views or the impact on their environment.”

This year, Energiekontor has also made three applications regarding changes at Margree and recently got permission to increase the height of nine turbines from 200m to 220m.

Furthermore, it’s also on its fourth attempt to increase turbine height at Glenshimmeroch near Dalry from the 150m agreed in 2019 to 220m.

The company has defended the multiple applications, claiming the move is “a routine and well-established part of the planning system”.