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Highland Councillors urged to save iconic landscape

Highland councillors are being urged to reject an application for a wind farm on the edge of the world-famous landscape of the Glen Affric area.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has objected to the proposals to build seven wind turbines, each almost 400 feet high, on the slopes of Beinn Mhor, near Tomich, just south of the iconic glen.

Elected members of the South Planning Applications Committee and officials from Highland Council are to visit the site of the proposed wind farm on Monday (19 January), before deciding the application on Tuesday.

The (MCofS) is urging the decision-makers to consider carefully what could be destroyed and to reject the development. In its objection, the mountaineering body said the proposed wind farm would have severe landscape and visual impacts on the area and would affect local tourism and recreation.

View over Coire Loch, Glen Affric, towards the windfarm site

View over Coire Loch, Glen Affric, towards the windfarm site

Chief Officer David Gibson said: “This site cannot support a wind energy development of the scale proposed without causing an unacceptable and intrusive impact on the important and iconic landscape of the Glen Affric area.

“This is an area which has a high scenic value and is popular with a wide range of visitors – from mountain-walkers to less active tourists. There are already existing and proposed wind farms in the vicinity and to approve this – which is closer than any of them to Glen Affric – would set a particularly damaging precedent.”

The full MCofS objection can be viewed on its website here.

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