Plans for one of Scotland's tallest wind farms spark anger over 'significant errors'

A series of community councils in a hot-spot area for wind farms claim “significant errors” have been made over plans to build some of Scotland’s tallest wind turbines in the Borders.

Dublin-based firm ESB lodged an application for up to 13 turbines measuring up to 230m high for near Hawick. The region in the local authority area is experiencing another 13 proposed wind farm developments either in scoping or planning.

Despite plans being lodged in 2022 and going through consultation, ESB has been accused of a lack of collaboration with communities and failing to address “significant errors and omissions” in the plans.

It comes as the Borders was in the spotlight at Westminster in the past fortnight, with MP John Lamont discussing the impact of energy infrastructure on Scottish rural communities, accusing ministers of “contempt” for rural Scotland.

Seven community councils from the areas surrounding the proposed Millmoor Rig windfarm, which is on Church of England land, have signed a formal objection.

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Southdean Community Council chairman Philip Kerr claimed some of the omissions included the developer missing out two-thirds of the area’s tourist accommodation, among other errors such as peat miscalculations.

Southdean Community Council chairman Philip Kerr | Supplied

“New properties have been built since, more eagles are flying around and there should be things in their plans that there aren’t,” Mr Kerr said. “Private water supply is all in the wrong places, for example. There’s just example after example showing they haven’t done their homework.”

Mr Kerr said the developer had to get it right with the communities, given a wave of similar applications for the area.

He spoke about previous issues with Pines Burn wind farm near Hawick, which experienced significant delays. The turbine blades were delivered on special blade lifters to shorten the length of the load. But high winds forced cancellations on nearly 30 occasions and they were also targeted by vandals.

Hawick, in the Scottish Borders. PIC: SSDA. | Centre Parcs has proposed to build a new site on Duke of Buccleuch land just north of Hawick in the Scottish Borders. PIC: SSDA.

“It was just a car crash,” Mr Kerr said. “Part of those issues were a failure to understand a community and being ignored. We don’t want to go down that road again.”

Community councils across the country are working Local Place Plans, an initiative introduced by the Scottish Government’s reform of planning through the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

The plans give communities the right to create their own plans for land development and use, which local authorities must then consider when creating local development plans.

Mr Kerr said: “The place plan process has meant we have a much greater understanding within our area and it therefore shows even more how little these developers have done when it comes to doing their homework.”

ESB said a public event held on October 24 had provided “a summary of the recently submitted ‘additional information’” for the community.

A spokesperson for the company said: “The 'additional information' submission was to provide clarifications and updates to the application. While the submission does not respond to individual community council responses, we will write directly to each of the community councils on this matter. We will continue to engage on the plans as the project goes through the planning process.”

The Church of England declined to comment.