Five turbine boost move is withdrawn

Spate of objections from concerned groups

ScottishPower Renewables has withdrawn an application to add more turbines to its existing Greenknowes wind farm south east of Auchterarder following a spate of objections.

The proposed extension would have consisted of five new turbines with tip heights of 111m, taking the total amount of turbines at Greenknowes to 23.

Five community councils, the Friends of the Ochils and the Kinross-shire Civic Trust all objected to the application, which was lodged way back in December 2015, stating the development would have a detrimental impact on the surrounding landscape.

In its objection Crieff Community Council said: “This application should not be seen merely as an extension of an existing facility, it is a further intrusion into an important landscape, already marred from every aspect by a proliferation of turbines.”

East Strathearn Community Council said of the application: “The additional turbines ... would clutter the slopes of the Ochils without necessarily appearing as part of the original development.

“This lack of cohesion would be further exacerbated by the fact that the additional turbines are higher than the turbines of the original scheme.”

Portmoak Community Council added: “Loch Leven lies ... at some 15km distance from the turbines.

“There are already a number of wind turbines to the north and west in the Ochil Hills visible from the loch, and the addition of a further five [turbines] to the west risks having a detrimental effect on the remaining ‘clean’ landscape surrounding this important site.”

And Friends of the Ochils said: “One of our most serious concerns about further windfarm developments and windfarm extensions in the Ochils is their cumulative impact.

“The addition of five turbines to the existing layout will further damage the cumulative impact of Greenknowes with other windfarms in and around the Ochils and bring the hill range that much closer to being a windfarm landscape.”