Wind turbine planning to get harder, warns Smiths Gore
Onshore wind developers will have to work much harder to convince planning authorities of the case for future sites according to land agents Smiths Gore.
Most Scottish planning authorities now have their own supplementary guidance (SG) setting out potential areas that are not suitable for wind development at a certain height, said Craig Miles of the firm’s Edinburgh planning team.
While these gave potential developers some degree of certainty, the majority of SGs dismiss vast swathes of land as being unsuitable for wind development, or only suitable for very small-scale projects, he warned.
This will severely limit the potential to meet government targets and actively encourage more, smaller-sized turbines to be developed. There were further policy restrictions at a national level such as a presumption against on-shore wind development in large areas of wild land across Scotland, warned Smiths Gore.
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