Highland Council landscape officer says turbines at Armadale would 'detract' from village's character
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Twelve huge wind turbines would unacceptably impair the outlook between a far north stretch of the NC500 and the sea, according to Highland Council's landscape officer.
Anne Cowling has joined scores of residents of Armadale in opposing the plans drawn up by Brookfield Renewables UK Ltd.
The company is bidding to put up the 150-metre high turbines on a tract of hill land and common grazings overlooking the north Sutherland village.
Because of the size of the 57.6 megawatt venture, the planning application will be determined by Scottish ministers but it is going before the council later this month for a recommendation.
In among the latest responses to the planning application, Ms Cowling's objection concerns how close the turbines are to the A836 and coastal settlements.
She states: "For this small part of the coast there is a characteristic settlement pattern of townships scattered along roads which run perpendicular between the coast itself and the A836.
"The close combination between coastal crofts and small farms, sweeping moorland and flows and rocky hills which characterises the coast between Bettyhill in the west and Portskerra in the east is not repeated in quite this form anywhere else on the north coast and should be valued for that distinctiveness.
"In my view, the imposition of this development at such close proximity to the road and settlement significantly weakens and detracts from this sense of place."
Historic Scotland meantime has lodged an objection but says it would remove it were four turbines deleted from the scheme or relocated to significantly reduce the impact on a broch near Armadale Burn.
Residents opposed to the turbines claim they would be a blot on the landscape and overwhelm the village.
Brookfield insists its environmental impact study has proved the worth of the scheme and points out that a community benefit fund would unlock more than £7 million to support local initiatives over its lifespan.
The application is on the agenda of Highland Council's north planning committee on January 25.
