Wull Muir Wind Farm application
Appeal Decision Notice
The Appeal Decision Notice by the reporter was published on 19th October 2020.
The decision was to dismiss the appeal and refuse planning permission.
Download the Appeal Decision Notice for Wull Muir Wind Farm.
Details of application
Proposed to erect 8 turbines up to 130m height, at Wull Muir.
Download map showing new layout for Wull Muir Wind Farm submitted 30 September 2019.
The original planning application for the Wull Muir Wind Farm was submitted to the Scottish Borders Council on 2nd April 2019.
Documents can be viewed online at the Scottish Borders Council planning applications webpage.
Heriot CC decided to object to the planning proposal for Wull Muir farm.
The Stow & Fountainhall and Heriot Community Councils objection can be seen in full here.
Heriot Community Council revised objection of November 2019 can be seen in full here.
The objection listed the following reasons for recommending that SBC Planning Committee refuses the application.
- Adverse impacts on Landscape & Visual grounds, especially in relation to their effects on local residents.
- Planning Policy and a Fundamental conflict with SBC Landscape Capacity Study giving rise to unacceptable cumulative impacts with existing wind farms, and also creating an unacceptable extension of the Lammermuir "cluster" into the Moorfoot Hills
- Failure to fully assess Residential Amenity issues including noise.
- Lack of economic benefit together with failure to discuss grid constraint effects on projected output. Conflict with the developers own assertion elsewhere in the Borders that much higher turbines are required for economic viability
Redesign of Wind Farm
Following the responses from Heriot CC and other consultees, including SBC's Landscape Architect, Energiekontor have redesigned the proposed wind farm, and have recently submitted further detailed plans in the form of Supplementary Environmental Information (SEI). The SEI material can be seen on the SBC Portal.
The SEI includes the following viewpoint montages to show the turbines in their new positions.
- SEI VIEW POINT 1 BROADLAW
- SEI VIEWPOINT 2 GLADHOUSE
- SEI VIEWPOINT 3 BLACKHOPE SCAR
- SEI VIEWPOINT 4 CORSEHOPE RINGS
- SEI VIEWPOINTS 5 A7 GILSTON ROAD
- SEI VIEWPOINT 6 NETTLINGFLAT
- SEI VIEWPOINT 7 MIDDLETON
- SEI VIEWPOINT 8 GOREBRIDGE
- SEI VIEWPOINT 9 TYNEHEAD ROAD
- SEI VIEWPOINT 10 HUMBIE
- SEI VIEWPOINT 11 A68 SOUTRA
- SEI VIEWPOINT 12 A68 LAUDER COMMON
- SEI VIEWPOINT 13 BONNYRIGG
- SEI VIEWPOINT 14 ALLERMUIR HILL
- SEI VIEWPOINT 15 TRANENT
- SEI VIEWPOINT 16 ARTHURS SEAT
- SEI FIGURE 3_3A HALTREE RINGS
- SEI FIGURE 3_4A HODGE CAIRN
- SEI FIGURE 3_5A SYMINGTON HILLHEAD
- SEI FIGURE 3_6 LOQUHARIOT
- SEI FIGURE 3_7A CRICHTON CASTLE
- SEI FIGURE 3_8A ARNISTON HOUSE
- SEI FIGURE 3_9A MIDDLETON HALL
The SEI provides the following map to indicate where the turbines will be visible in the Heriot area.
SEI APPENDIX FIGURE 2_32 RVAA PROPERTIES
The SEI provides wireline images for views from Carcant(group), Shoestanes, Falahill (group) and Whitelaw.
SEI APPENDIX FIGURES 2_33 RVAA WIRELINES.
Responses to this must be submitted to SBC Planning by November 5th 2019.
Download map showing new layout for Wull Muir Wind Farm submitted 30 September 2019.
Download map showing comparison between old and new layout for Wull Muir Wind Farm.
Documents can be viewed online at the Scottish Borders Council planning applications webpage.
SBC Planning Application Decision
The planning application was heard on the 3rd February 2020 by Scottish Borders Council.
The application has been refused planning permission.
The formal notice of refusal can be viewed here.
Appeal to the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government
The applicants Energiekontor UK Ltd have appealed against the decision to refuse planning permission by SBC.
The case has been allocated to a Reporter on 18/05/2020, and the progress of the appeal can be seen on the DPEA website at
http://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseDetails.aspx?ID=121020
The Appeal reference is PPA-140-2080.
All parties who commented on the original applications were invited to make additional comment on the Statement of Appeal. However, all previous comments will still be considered.
The HCC position remains the same as previously given. HCC submitted the following comment on the Statement of Appeal.