Windfarm lessons mulled over

LESSONS from the Scoophill saga will be taken forward with other windfarm and BESS proposals looming over Moffat.

The controversial 60-turbine scheme by Community Windpower Ltd (CWL) was shot down the Scottish Government’s Energy Consensus Unit (ECU) earlier this month, much to the delight of the people of Moffat.

The main determining issues for the scheme were landscape and visual effects, including nighttime effects from aviation warning lighting; the impact on Eskdalemuir Seismological Recording Station and Array;

and effects on tourism.

Moffat and District Community Council reflected on the decision at their meeting on Tuesday, in the light of other proposals locally, including Rivox and Kinnelhead windfarms and the Barnhill lane BESS scheme.

Group secretary Mick Barker said: “It’s quite clear that there were factors above and beyond those which the community was able to influence that impacted on the decision.

“The ministers concluded that the impact on the Eskdalemuir Seismological Recording Station and Array in its own right, ‘outweighs the benefits of the proposed development’. It’s highly likely that is the most compelling statement in the 180 page long report.

“The reporter also said there would be a significant visual impact on southern Annandale.

“I’m stressing that the reporter said these things because they were what the planning committee said but they were not the issues debated by the experts at the public enquiry.

“Interestingly, the reporter goes on to say he doesn’t think that Moffat High Street would be significantly impacted by the development.

“And it’s interesting to see the relevant insignificance given to the community views in the decision, higher levels of significance were given to the landscape experts and even higher significance was given to the Eskdalemuir array.”