A DENHOLM farmer has said refusal of a planning application for a 74m-high wind turbine has left his scheme for diversification “dead in the water”.
Jim Shanks, of Standhill Farm, had planned the turbine as part of a project which included a recently-approved anaerobic digestion plant.
But on Monday the turbine bid was rejected, and Mr Shanks said that because of grid connection costs, the biogas plant is unsustainable on its own. However, he thanked those who supported the project and said he would “let the dust settle” before considering an appeal.
David Walmsley, of the opposing Minto Hills Conservation Group, said: “Common sense, common values and local democracy suggest that most local people do not believe that farm diversification into industrial-scale wind energy production should be allowed at any cost, and certainly not at the expense of other local people whose livelihoods depend – without any public subsidies – on the Scottish Borders’ biggest asset, its scenery.”
The planning committee went along with the officer’s recommendation to refuse the scheme because of the visibility of the turbine in the landscape and the Ministry of Defence’s objection due to the effect on the Eskdalemuir seismological recording station.