Airriequhillart wind farm plans dropped
Plans for a wind farm development in Wigtownshire have been dropped.
EDF Energy Renewables has confirmed that it will not be pursuing an 18-turbine development at Airriequhillart between Port William and Wigtown.
The news has been welcomed by Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Alex Fergusson.
He said he had always maintained there were good sites and bad sites for such developments, and in his view this was a perfect example of a "very bad site".
More than 1,000 people signed a petition opposing the plans as part of a three-year campaign mounted by local residents.
Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown also welcomed the decision as a "victory" for people living in the area.
"I know there are concerns that another company may come along and try to develop a wind farm on or near the site," he added.
"I hope this doesn't turn out to be the case as there was strong opposition from many people to EDF's plans."
A spokesman for the company said it had come to the conclusion the site was "no longer technically viable".
Onshore development manager Dennis Garry said they always carried out "detailed and in depth studies" before proceeding with a project.
"In the case of the site at Airriequhillart, we collected over two years' worth of data and, having reviewed the results, we have come to the conclusion that the site would not be viable from a technical point of view," he said.
"We would like to extend our thanks to all those locally for their patience and for the feedback we received during our investigations."