Councillors object to a 52 turbine wind farm near Hawick, citing visual impact and potential heritage damage.
Muirhall Energy is the developer and they changed the Teviot Wind Farm plans a lot. The turbine number went down from 63, and they removed a solar array too. Visibility of the project should decrease now.
But the council committee voted against supporting the wind farm in a vote of five to three. Without objections, the Scottish Government would decide. Now, a government reporter will review it and hold a public inquiry.
Some worried about the look of the large turbines, where the maximum height could reach 240 meters, while others feared damage to Hermitage Castle. People also mentioned Tinlee Standing Stone, a prehistoric stone monument. Catrail Earthworks might suffer harm too.
Councillor Marshall Douglas spoke about the massive size, saying 240 metres equals 816 feet and that drones can only fly up to 120 meters. He had “great concerns” about the project. Councillor Neil Richards agreed with Douglas, mentioning traffic in his town and talking about peat damage. He called the project “vandalism.”
The developer says it helps reach net zero targets and brings millions to the local economy. It could create up to 29 local jobs. Kirstin Leckie from Muirhall Energy commented, stating that they worked closely with the community and listened to feedback during design.
Based on feedback, they removed the solar part and lowered the number of turbines by ten. Visual impact got reduced a lot through these changes. Leckie felt disappointed by the council’s objection, but remains confident in their project plans, which now advance to the Scottish Government.