Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Robin Currie, Rory Colville and Mary-Jean Devon.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report by Head of Planning, Housing and Regulatory Services

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.  He then outlined the procedure that would be followed and invited the Head of Governance and Law to identify all those who wished to speak.

PLANNING

Arlene Knox presented the planning application on behalf of the Head of Planning, Housing and Regulatory Services.  She asked Members to note that the report of handling should be read in conjunction with Supplementary Report  1 which provided corrections to the commentary set out under sections P and U of the main report and Supplementary Report 2 which updated Members on representations and consultation responses received since the proposal was last reported to committee. 

A total of 15 additional letters of objection have been received, including: a letter of objection from Councillor Alan Reid, withdrawal of a letter of representation, and a request to speak in support of the proposal today.  These late items do not raise any new material considerations. The revised totals are as follows: a total of 377 letters have been received, comprising 315 Objections, 56 letters of support and 4 general representations. 

A further consultee response has also been received from Kilmun Community Council confirming that they are remaining neutral and are not making any objection to the application, due to the lack of objections made to them.

Scottish Natural Heritage has formally objected to the proposal on the grounds that it would have an adverse effect on the special qualities and integrity of the Kyles of Bute National Scenic Area.  SNH consider that these effects cannot be mitigated.  SNH also have significant concerns regarding the landscape and visual impacts of this proposal.  The Scottish Wild Land Group also object on the grounds that they believe the environmental and other impacts hugely outweigh any benefits.

No objections have been raised by any other consultees, subject to appropriate conditions in the event that planning permission were to be granted. In the event that Members are minded to grant planning permission against the recommendation of Officers, it should be noted that the proposal will be required to be notified to Scottish Ministers due to the fact that the statutory consultee SNH has objected.

The main report covers a number of topic areas, however, following a brief description of the development, she advised she would focus on the key area of concern to Officers & SNH, specifically the landscape & visual impact of the proposal, as all other issues are either acceptable or can be mitigated by appropriate planning conditions.  A pack of graphics was circulated during the site visit yesterday, which was supplied by the Applicants to assist in the appreciation of the proposal in its landscape setting, which Members may wish to refer to during this presentation.

The site is located within the Ardtaraig Estate which is approximately 3.1km to the east of Glendaruel and 17km North West of Dunoon. The site itself is an area of open, rugged moorland on the west facing flank of A’Chruach and is surrounded on all sides by commercial forestry plantations. The A866 runs parallel along the western boundary of the site.  The B836 lies to the south east of the site. The proposal is located immediately to the south of the existing Cruach Mhor windfarm which has 35 turbines, 71m in height. Cruach Mhor wind farm occupies a rare area of slacker ground on the western edge of more complex craggy terrain which occurs to the east and is relatively well-screened with limited visibility.

The application is for a wind energy development comprising: the erection, 25-year operation and subsequent decommissioning of seven wind turbines up to 136.5m at their highest point, together with off-site vehicular access, on-site access tracks, hardstanding areas, a substation battery storage facility and control building compound, borrow pits and cabling. During construction, a temporary construction compound would also be required to house a site office and welfare facilities. 

Access to the site will be via the existing Cruach Mhor wind farm entrance, located directly off the A886.

Turbines would have a maximum blade tip height of 136.5 metres and a rotor diameter of 117 metres. Each wind turbine would have a capacity of approximately 4.2 MW, giving a total installed capacity of 29.4 MW.

The substation compound would comprise a hardstanding and a single storey building such as this which would house switchgear, metering, protection and control equipment as well as welfare facilities. A battery storage facility is also proposed to be incorporated to further maximise the electricity generated from the proposed wind turbines.

The site is located within ‘Very Sensitive Countryside’ as defined by the Local Development Plan.  Within ‘Very Sensitive Countryside’ Policy DM 1 encourages sustainable forms of renewable energy development located on appropriate sites.  It is considered that the proposal is contrary to the provisions of this policy as the site is not considered to be ‘appropriate’ due to the significant adverse landscape and visual effects the proposal is likely to have. It is considered that due to these adverse effects the proposal cannot be considered to be sustainable. 

Supplementary Guidance has been prepared in accordance with SPP which provides a Spatial Framework for wind farms and wind turbine developments over 50 metres high. The site is located in a Group 2 area of significant protection where wind farms may be acceptable, if it can be demonstrated that any significant effects on the qualities of these areas can be substantially overcome by siting, design or other mitigation.

The site is located within a Group 2 area as defined by SPP and Supplementary Guidance due to the mapped presence of Class 2 nationally important carbon rich soils, potentially of high conservation value and restoration potential.  Following the advice of SNH and SEPA, it is not considered that this status would be an impediment to the proposal being permitted subject to conditions to secure a Peat Management Plan and a Habitat Management Plan.

The turbines are located 1.77km from the northern boundary of Kyles of Bute National Scenic Area and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.