Penmanshiel wind farm appeal lodged
- 2 October 2012
- From the section South Scotland
A council has said it will "vigorously defend" an appeal by developers behind plans for a wind farm in Berwickshire.
RES UK has made the move because it claims Scottish Borders Council has not dealt with its 15-turbine Penmanshiel proposals within required timescales.
The company claimed the development had been "sensitively designed" to minimise its visual impact.
A spokesman for SBC said it was "disappointing" the firm had decided to proceed to the appeal stage.
RES Development Project Manager Ruth Elder said the project had been in planning for nearly a year without a decision being made.
She said "all the information required" had been made available to the council.
"We have taken the decision to appeal on the grounds of non-determination so the project has the potential to proceed without further unnecessary delay and contribute to Scotland's ambitious renewable energy targets if consented," she said.
"RES believes that Penmanshiel Moor is an ideal location for a wind farm.
"The wind farm has been sensitively designed to minimise views, particularly from the A1 corridor and from local settlements."
However, a council spokesman said the company had not responded to requests to adjust its plans.
"The council wrote to the developers in June indicating that we could not support the application in its current form," he said.
"This was because the turbines, at a height of 100m, would be over-dominant in the landscape and due to significant concerns about cumulative visual impact with other developments in the planning process but particularly with the constructed site at Drone Hill.
"In that letter we offered them the opportunity to modify the scheme and latterly we wrote asking to extend the time period to determine the application.
"However, we received no response to these requests."