Wind farm company loses appeal against planning refusal for seven-turbine Kilbraur South development
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A POWER company has reached the end of the road in its bid to build a small Sutherland wind farm.
South Kilbraur Wind Farm Limited has had its appeal against a planning refusal for the seven-turbine development turned down.
The firm applied to the local authority in 2019 for consent to install the 149.8 metre high turbines some 1km south of the existing Kilbraur wind farm.
The planned turbines would have been a third larger than the Forth Bridge at 110 metres and just short of the height at which aircraft warning lights would be needed.
Local people set up an action group Kilbraur2 Action Group in 2019 to campaign against the development.
Members said the “colossal” turbines would be visible for miles and would dwarf the existing Kilbraur wind farm and dominate the top of Dunrobin Glen, Knockarthur, Inchomney and West Langwell.
Highland Council refused permission on visual grounds and the power company submitted an appeal to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division.
The decision by reporter Andrew Fleming to reject the appeal has just been made public.
He concluded: “The proposal would clearly make a contribution towards renewable energy generation and have positive socio-economic impacts.
“However, I consider that it is a relatively modest proposal in terms of its generation of renewable energy and sociao economic impacts and that it would cause substantial and disproportionate harm..... I consider that it would have significant landscape and visual impacts, including cumulative impacts, which it is not possible to mitigate."
