A ROUND of applause broke out at a Scottish Borders Council planning committee on Monday after a wind farm-related bid was rejected amid concerns over its impact on wildlife, residents and the environment.
The council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee refused an application for the erection of a temporary lattice anemometry mast up to 90 metres high on land south of Deanburnhaugh in Hawick.
The mast was proposed to examine the economic viability of the proposed Mid Hill wind farm, comprising of up to 42 turbines, with tip heights up to 200m.
Refusal of the mast bid now casts uncertainty over the future of the wind farm proposal.
Thirty-one representations objecting to the mast were received over the potential impact on Broadlea Loch and on River Teviot and River Tweed, on wildlife and on Eskdalemuir Seismic Array.
Some of those objectors packed the public gallery at today’s meeting and applauded enthusiastically when the application was rejected.
Councillor Watson McAteer, for Hawick and Hermitage, said the mast proposal was “simply in the wrong place”.
He said: “The application relates to land next to Broadlea Loch, an active wildlife area that I have been told Golden Eagles, ospreys and various other species regularly visit. The risks to these incredible animals is unthinkable.
“I consider this application and its future implications for the Teviot and Borthwick Valley people and those in nearby Hawick to be completely unreasonable and unjustifiable. It is obvious this is the wrong location for the mast and any future projects.”
Maeve McCloskey, for applicant Invenergy, said: “We use anemometry masts to calculate the wind conditions on development sites which require several years of wind data across all seasons to ensure robust data is collected.
“The mast is not within or adjacent to any ecological designations and there have been no objections from Nature Scot nor the ecology officer relating to any potential ecological impacts.”
Members voted by four to three to refuse the application.
Councillor Neil Richards, for Hawick & Denholm, said: “If you pass it you almost guarantee, despite what we have been told, they will put in for a wind farm. In general terms I’m against this.”
