Councillors in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, have objected to plans for a wind farm near Moffat, going against the advice of their own planning officials.
The plans for Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm were discussed at a meeting of the council’s planning committee on Thursday.
It was decided by a margin of nine to four the committee would vote against their planning officers’ advice and raise an objection to the proposal.
The developer behind the project, Community Windpower Limited (CWL), said it was “extremely disappointed” by the verdict, which follows an intensive consultation process with numerous officials, including the council’s landscape architect.
The decision on whether to grant planning permission ultimately lies with the Scottish government, but a public inquiry will now be triggered by the objection.
By objecting to Scoop Hill, councillors went against the advice of their own senior planning officer Robert Duncan, and their landscape architect, who both said the proposed 60-turbine wind farm, located in Eskdalemuir Forest around 5km south east of Moffat, should be allowed to proceed.
Duncan’s report, which was published last week, stated the “potential socio-economic and environmental benefits of the proposal are considered to be significant and positive” and “carry a lot of weight”.
It also highlighted Scoop Hill is located within the council’s only preferred area for large-scale wind projects, and is significantly smaller than CWL’s original proposal.
The company reduced the number of turbines from 75 to 60 so there would be less of a visible impact from viewpoints to the north-west, west and south.
has been estimated the project will add £54.4m to the value of the local economy during the construction and development stage alone.
Serving the community for 40 years, the wind farm could generate £5.4m per year for the council in business rates, money which could be used to protect vital local services.
The council’s objection also comes days after the UK’s climate change watchdog warned that Scotland was on course to miss its targets on cutting emissions.
The Climate Change Committee said the growth in onshore wind had “slowed” and was “off track”, with operational capacity needing to more than double to meet ministers’ target of developing 20GW by 2030.
Rod Wood, managing director of Community Windpower, said:
“We are extremely disappointed – and also baffled – that Dumfries and Galloway’s planning committee has refused to give their approval to Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm and chosen to go against the advice of the council’s qualified planning officers.
“Our confusion is compounded by the fact that Scoop Hill is located in their own preferred area for such developments and that it has been significantly reduced in size, in accordance with advice given by their own landscape architect.
“By taking this decision, councillors are standing in the way of a project that will create hundreds of jobs, bring in tens of millions of pounds of local investment and help fight climate change by decarbonising the energy grid and providing clean, green electricity.”