Relationship to Scottish Planning Policy / National Planning Framework

A key consideration is whether the current policy within Scottish Planning Policy (to be subsumed in National Planning Framework 4 when finalised) that prohibits windfarms in Scotland's national parks would apply to any new national park and if this would be a constraint on achieving Scotland's climate change renewable energy targets. Consideration would also need to be given to whether any existing windfarms located in a candidate new national park area would be left in situ or removed.

Why the contribution is important

The relationship with Scottish Planning Policy is important because it specifically refers to national parks and windfarms.

by camusfearna on May 26, 2022 at 10:55AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.3
Based on: 3 votes

Comments

  • Posted by JeremyHW May 28, 2022 at 08:34

    An interesting question. Windfarms are epitome of naturally sustainable energy source. Yet full-scale windfarms can be a blight on the landscape. This latter point is very subjective. But then national parks are the designation of PURE natural landscapes. Or are they? They also include pylons, roads, railways, towns.... So is the question more about scale, intrusion, selective locations, avoidance of vista deterioration etc? My own opinion is that there should not be windfarms within national parks - but would support localised wind generation at a scale that is not intrusive such as are common on some farms.
    This is the planning side. Alongside that is the disturbance to wildlife that wind turbines create - noise and vibration, injury etc. That needs consideration too and depends much on location, even for smaller scale ones.

  • Posted by niallmacleod May 31, 2022 at 12:00

    This is exactly the pressure we at Loch Awe are experiencing, huge 200 m high turbine applications coming thick and fast. The applicants will feed no local benefit back to our community and seemingly all are based overseas?!
    In turn our community will be devastated for 25 years or more by having the landscape industrialised to a scale that destroys so much of why we the community live here and our lively hood “the tourists” from all around the world come here!

  • Posted by camusfearna June 05, 2022 at 10:42

    Scottish Planning Policy already prohibits windfarms in national parks and National Scenic Areas. No doubt some campaigning for specific areas to be designated a national park are motivated by this policy in order to prohibit windfarms from the area but a number of the areas being proposed already have windrows constructed in them and have others under construction or approved and this issue needs to be considered carefully in relation to the designation of a new national park.

    Would Scottish Ministers countenance removing onshore renewables, de-approve already approved windfarms and compensate the operators and power companies in order to create a national park, thus reducing the amount of renewable energy and jeopardising meeting Scotland's statutory climate change targets; or countenance having windfarms in a new national park, which would be contrary to current Scottish Planning Policy and perhaps establish a precedent for windfarms to be proposed inside the existing two windfarms? Neither option is attractive or sensible.

    Far better to adopt a criteria that any area being considered as a new national park should fully take account of Scottish Planning Policy and not undermine the achievement of Scotland's statutory climate change targets.

  • Posted by PeterNeuberger June 05, 2022 at 17:39

    Sorry, cannot agree with this.

    As far as any properly balanced energy strategy, Scotland's renewable energy targets have already been surpassed handsomely considering wind farms consented as well as those already built.

    The reason why wind farm developers are falling over each other to build wind farms in the Borders of Scotland is because it is near their market - England.

    If you are REALLY talking about Scotland getting 100% of its energy from renewables - for Scotland - then I suggest there is thousands of square miles of blasted heath in the Highlands where nobody would know a wind farm was there. But, a transmission grid would have to be established to get the energy where it is needed, in the cities and towns of the Central Belt.
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