New wind farm policy agreed by the council
An updated Wind Energy Interim Planning Policy was on Tuesday by councillors at a meeting of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Planning Housing and Environment Committee.
Vice-Chair of the Planning, Housing and Environment Committee, Councillor Ian Carruthers, said, “The updated policy is necessary because of Scottish Planning Policy and associated Scottish Government guidance issued in February 2011. A huge amount of work went into producing these new guidelines, so I am pleased that they have been agreed. They will be taken into account when our council receives an application that involves wind energy.”
Mid Galloway Councillor Graham Nicol added: “This policy will eventually tie in with the local development plan, being worked on at the moment, in 2013.
“We have been asking for it for three of four years now and now it is in place we have a policy that is much more robust. It give councillors guidance as to where we can and can’t allow windfarms and it will also help give applicants guidance as to when they can expect problems which may or may not be able to be addressed.”
Dumfries and Galloway Council carried out a consultation on the Interim Planning Policy last year. The consultation was advertised in local papers and the documents were available through local libraries and on line. Public meetings were held across the region and community councils were asked for their views.
Important changes were made as a result of the consultation and include:
- SNH/RSPB high sensitivity bird mapping as a constraint
- Expansion of the ‘Other Considerations’ section to reflect comments from the consultation, including a map showing the core area of the Dark Skies Park
- Landscape sensitivity done at Stage 3 rather than Stage 2 with changes to Search Area maps. This better reflects Scottish Government on line guidance
- Amendments to one Cumulative Sensitivity zone
- A Habitats Regulation Assessment has been carried out
- Changes to policies
The council also commissioned the Dumfries and Galloway Landscape Capacity study. This looked at the capacity of our landscape to accept, in visual terms, additional turbine development and the type and nature of development acceptable in different locations. The study will act as a supporting technical document to the Interim Planning Policy.
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Weather for Newton Stewart
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Comments
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Naturally Resourceful
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 04:30 PM@norfolkboy Perhaps you would like to share your plan that helps us move away from the reliance on a quickly disappearing, very harmful fuel source? You mention the destruction of our countryside-well the phrase 'rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic' springs to mind. The reason that we need a raft of solutions for energy provision is that we have been relying on a fuel source that has contributed massively to the destruction of the environment that 'our countryside' is part of. Bearing in mind that turbines have a twenty year life span, do you really feel that you have the right to deny future generations some level of energy security in order to protect a landscape that has been formed by human activity for thousands of years? Don't forget that the rolling hills and open vistas replaced the original forested land in order to satisfy our society's agricultural needs. On the matter of economics, look at the tax breaks and subsidies that the coal and nuclear industries have enjoyed at our expense for years, in return for what? For destroying the robustness of a global ecosystem.
norfolkboy14
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 05:12 PMWe need to get the Government onside, as well as local councils and others, if we are going to stop these wind turbines being built. Are you disillusioned by rising electricity prices, over dependence on the "green" dream [especially uneconomical and inefficient wind farms] and the destruction of our countryside then please register your objection to the Government by GOOGLING "E-PETITION 22958" and following the link. Please pass this message on to Councillors, members of your community and anyone else you know to persuade them to sign up too. If you are really concerned about wind turbines please write a letter promoting this petition to your community newsletters and the Editors of your local newspapers.
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