Highland councillor calls for overhaul of windfarm application process
The decision-making process governing wind energy applications needs to be overhauled, according to a Highland councillor.
However, the Scottish Government has said there is little chance of that happening anytime soon.
Councillor Margaret Davidson said piecemeal planning applications denied communities the chance to see the end picture and offered a slim chance to successfully object on sold grounds.
The Independent member for Aird and Loch Ness raised the concerns at Highland Council's latest south planning applications committee after applications for two temporary wind farm meteorological masts near Drumnadrochit were approved despite nearly 200 objections.
Many of those opposed were concerned the structures to be sited north west of Achratagan at Balnain and about half a mile from east of Creag Muigeil, Glenurquhart, would be a precursor to the Cnoc an Eas wind farm for developers Force 9 Energy partners LLP and EDF Energy Renewables.
Councillor Davidson said the problem with the current decision-making process was that residents’ objections carried little weight because national policy dictated that local authorities must deal with wind farm mast applications on their own merits.
They were not permitted to look ahead and object to the mast based on the grounds that it will lead to a wind farm.
She said members owed it to communities to call for this to be changed.
"The way it works is first of all we get an application for a temporary mast," she said.
"And then we get an application for a wind farm and we agonise over that, then we get an application for a substation and overhead lines.
"Communities need to see the whole impact and understand what the issues are at the very first stage. We should not be deciding any wind farm masts before we see at least a sketch of the full picture of the wind farm."
Inverness Central councillor Donnie Kerr agreed. He said: "We are getting a lot of people writing in and the fact that there is not much we can do about this makes a mockery out of the consultation."
Members agreed to discuss the issue at the next meeting of the council’s planning development and infrastructure services committee on February 18th.
However, a spokeswoman said the Scottish Government said there were no plans at present for changes to development management procedures.
She suggested Highland Council "consider reviewing the guidance" it gives to local communities on responding to planning applications to ensure those interested in making their views known actually understand the process.
She said it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the potential acceptability of a location for a wind farm based upon an anemometer mast application or to take it as an absolute precursor of a future application.
The spokeswoman said: "Proposals for overhead power lines and substations associated with energy development are covered under the Electricity Act 1989 and therefore require differing permissions as they are covered under different legislation. This often necessitates multiple applications."
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