Turbine triumph
Take one step down Straiton’s picturesque thoroughfare and you could be forgiven for thinking you were back in the 1950s.
Yet beneath the idyllic canvas one of Ayrshire’s most charming villages fights a constant battle to retain its natural beauty.
Mention the word “windfarms” to residents of this resolute place and you are likely to be chased back down the old Drover’s road to Newton Stewart.
It is, say proud defenders of these lands, an ongoing war to preserve everything that makes Straiton so great.
But this week the village is on a high, having defeated the latest proposal to build a windfarm.
The local pint is pulled in The Black Bull – first opened in 1766 – and a vintage throwback to times gone by.
These days the bar opens “most nights”, depending on demand, and that is just how they like it here: peaceful, tranquil and most importantly unspoilt – with no turbines.
Since February 2013 villagers have been forced to defend their very way of life in a series of bruising contests with energy giants.
And slowly but surely turbine firms are getting the message that the small but perfectly formed Save Straiton For Scotland committee will not be broken.
The latest battle, fought in the chambers of South Ayrshire Council, ended in victory for the villagers against Canadian wind firm Brookfield last week.
A proposal to build 11 turbines at nearby Knockskae, each at a towering 126 metres, was roundly thrown out by disapproving councillors.
And in these parts they say it is further proof that a “ring of steel” can never be allowed to go up on the rolling hills.
Bea Holden, who plays a leading role on the Save Straiton committee, said: “It’s become very clear over the past few years that energy companies will stop at nothing to get their own way.
“We’ve faced five separate applications in that time to try and build on what is some of the most unspoiled land in the country.
“We would rather not have these continual fights but in many ways it has brought us closer together as a village.
“There is something of a common bond that has united us over these last five years.
“If these windfarms were granted we’d be living with a ring of steel surrounding us.”
Committee fundraisers have amassed more than £ 25,000 down the years to help the village in its David vs Goliath fight.
And money spent wisely on expert reports ensures the group never goes in to object while short on their facts.
Committee member Philippa Baird said: “We might be called Save Straiton For Scotland but we feel we’re doing this for all areas in the country which are under threat.”
The village, which boasts a population of just a few hundred, insists its strength in blowing wind giants off course is actually its lack of numbers.
Eoghan Baird, who helps run the cooperative Straiton Stores, said: “These companies have picked on the wrong village here. It’s as simple as that.
“The people here are not prepared to stand back and accept this happening to them and we will fight all the way.
“I sometimes have to remind myself that we haven’t gone back 50 or 60 years when I look around the village. That is the magic of the place.
“We cannot let it be destroyed and we will not.”
A bid to build 22 turbines at Chirmorie near Barrhill will now be decided by the Scottish Government after protests.
They have picked on the wrong village