Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Insurance company’s proposed wind turbine thrown out by ministers
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PLANS by one of Perth’s biggest employers for a £3 million wind turbine have been rejected by Scottish Government ministers, just days after the same firm unveiled a pioneering green energy station in its car park.
Financial services giant Aviva launched its solarpowered carport this week as part of an ambitious bid for its Fair City HQ to be run almost entirely by renewable energy generated on-site.
Aviva wanted to complement the new facility with an equally powerful 77-metre wind turbine. The company said the three-blade mast could provide half of the A-listed building’s energy needs.
The plan was rejected by councillors after complaints it could impact residents living some 350 metres away, as well as causing noise and shadow flicker.
But Perth and Kinross Council’s local review body later voted to overturn the decision, claiming the turbine is necessary to tackle climate change.
Despite backing from the council, the case was called in by the Scottish Government after a complaint from Historic Environment Scotland.
An 11 month investigation followed, and the government’s appeals division has now said consent should be refused.
The department’s Elaine Hunter said it would have detracted from the building, adding “the potential benefits in relation to climate change are not sufficient to outweigh the adverse impact on the development of the listed building.”
An Aviva spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to receive this news. We are currently reviewing this to understand the basis of the decision.”
Scottish ministers say their ruling is final, but it is still open to Aviva to pursue a case at the Court of Session.
The firm’s Pitheavlis office building, built in the early 1980s, was granted protected Category-A status by Historic Environment Scotland in 2017.
The heritage body has described the block as “among the finest of Scotland’s commercial office buildings of its period.”
In its written report, the appeals division states: “The potential impact of the rotating and vertical form of the turbine would be diametrically opposed to the horizontal emphasis and linear built-form of the listed building.
“There is no doubt that the proposed very tall, vertical moving structure would dominate the skyline east of the building.”
The report adds: “It would undermine the very qualities that are an integral part of the design philosophy of the modernist building.”
Around half of the company’s 2,000-strong workforce is based at the Perth headquarters, although much of it is currently unused as employees have to work from home.