Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services
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The Development Manager spoke to the terms of the report advising that this proposal was seeking the construction of three wind turbines with hub heights of 50 metres and a total height of 74 metres to blade tip, the formation of a new access track and ancillary development. The application has been submitted by the owner of Ascog Farm, which is located approximately 300 metres to the south east of the southernmost turbine. He referred to a supplementary report and confirmed that 488 objections have been received along with 67 expressions of support and 2 neutral responses. A formal objection has been lodged by Bute Community Council and, whilst not formally objecting, Scottish Natural Heritage has significant concerns. The proposal is considered contrary to: - Scottish Planning Policy; Scottish Government’s Specific Advice Sheet on Onshore Wind Farms; Policies STRAT SI 1, STRAT RE 1, STRAT DC 4, and STRAT DC 5 of the Argyll and Bute Structure Plan (2002); and Polices LP EN 1, LP ENV 10, LP ENV 19, Appendix A, and LP REN 1 of the Argyll and Bute Local Plan (2009). It is recommended that planning permission be refused for the reasons detailed in the report subject to the holding of a Discretionary Pre-Determination Hearing in view of the number of representations that have been received.
Decision
The Committee agreed that there would be no added value to the process in holding a hearing as the proposal was contrary to a significant number of policies and that all other material considerations had been taken into account but these were not of such weight as to overcome these potential adverse impacts, which could not be overcome by the imposition of planning conditions or by way of a Section 75 legal agreement and therefore agreed to refuse planning permission for the following reasons:-
1. The proposed three wind turbines, inclusive of the means of access required, would be located on the Hill of Ascog approximately 2 kilometres south west of Rothesay, within the ‘Bute Rolling Farmland with Estates’ Landscape Character Type (ref ‘Argyll & Bute Landscape Wind Energy Capacity Study (LWECS) – Final Main Report and Appendix March 2012’ - SNH/Argyll & Bute Council) which is intended to guide SNH and the Council on the strategic implications of further wind farm developments in the landscape. The proposal lies within a sensitive and highly valued landscape character type where it occupies a prominent coastal location where it would be viewed from ferry and recreational boat traffic together with roads on the island of Bute. The value of the landscape surrounding the application site has been accorded regional status by being designated as an Area of Panoramic Quality in the Council’s adopted Local Plan.
The LWECS identifies that the visual sensitivity within this
Landscape Character Type is high for the small-medium typology (i.e. between 35
metres to 50 metres to blade tip) and, as a consequence, it would be high for a
medium typology of between 50 metres to 80 metres to blade tip. The relatively
low-lying landscape of gently rolling small hedged pastures and extensive
wooded policies forms a lush pastoral scene contrasting with the more rugged
higher ground on north Bute and the exposed landscapes of the west coast. There
would be high-medium landscape sensitivity to the small-medium typology and,
consequently, high landscape sensitivity to medium typology, due principally to
the effect of taller turbines on the scale of the landform, its diverse
vegetation cover and on settlement.
At 74 metres in height to the
blade tip, the proposed wind turbines would be wholly out of scale with their
immediate and wider landscape context, where such large rotating structures
would dominate the scale of this part of the Isle of Bute. The scale and motion
of the proposed wind turbines would also impinge on adjacent small scale and
settled landscapes and adversely affect the highly sensitive coastal edge
including key coastal panoramas and views. The proposal impinges on the
sensitive coastal skylines which frame and provide a setting for the Firth of
Clyde, where development on this scale would undermine these qualities to the detriment of landscape
character contrary to Local Plan Policy LP REN 1 by virtue of visually
dominating a currently undeveloped and prominent landscape. Approval of the
proposal could establish a harmful precedent for such large wind turbines in a
relatively small landscape setting, where smaller turbines already exist and do
not exert such a degree of influence over the appreciation of the coast and
those landscapes which are characterised by the contrast between the land and
the sea.
The foregoing environmental considerations are
of such magnitude that they cannot be reasonably offset by the projected direct
or indirect benefits which a development of this scale would make to the
achievement of climate change related commitments.
Having due regard to the above, it is considered that this proposal would have a significant adverse impact on Landscape Character, would adversely affect a number of key views and would degrade designated scenic assets including the Firth of Clyde coastline and adjacent ‘Area of Panoramic Quality’. It is therefore inconsistent with the provisions of the Scottish Planning Policy and Scottish Government’s Specific Advice Sheet on Onshore Wind Farms; Policies STRAT SI 1: Sustainable Development; STRAT DC 4 – Development in Rural Opportunity Areas; STRAT DC 5: Development in Sensitive Countryside; STRAT DC 8: Landscape & Development Control; STRAT RE 1: Wind Farm/Wind Turbine Development of the ‘Argyll & Bute Structure Plan’ (approved 2002), to Policy LP ENV 1: Development Impact on the General Environment; LP ENV 10: Development Impact on Areas of Panoramic Quality; LP ENV 19 Development Setting, Layout and Design (including Appendix A Sustainable Siting and Design Principles); LP REN 1 Wind Farms and Wind Turbines; of the ‘Argyll & Bute Local Plan’ (2009) and the Argyll & Bute Landscape Wind Energy Capacity Study (LWECS) – Final main report and appendix March 2012.
2. There is a scale disparity between the height of the turbines and the hill on which they sit, ... view the full minutes text for item 11
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