Planners ride Cairngorm funicular ahead of windfarm decision

Members of Highland Council’s planning committee are today riding the funicular railway up Cairngorm to assess the impact that the proposed Allt Duine wind farm in the Monadhliath will have on the view from the Ptarmigan restaurant. They will then return to make their decision on the planning application at 2.30pm. Conservation charity The John Muir Trust has urged the councillors to get their boots on and visit the actual site earmarked for the turbines. In December the council’s planning committee decided to conduct a site visit before making a recommendation regarding the planned development. However, rather than go to the site itself, the councillors are travelling by coach to ride the funicular more than ten miles away on the other side of the A9.

Steven Turnbull, policy officer for the John Muir Trust said: “The Allt Duine development will have an immense impact on a valuable area of wild land. It’s disappointing that the councillors will not even go to visit the area that will be affected by the turbines before making their recommendation.

“If the council thinks the site is too inaccessible it seems odd that RWE npower renewables should be allowed to consider building large tracks and 125 metre high turbines in this remote and wild place.”

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland – another objector to the development, is concerned about the cumulative impact with the other ten proposed wind farms which could eventually encircle the National Park. Their President Brian Linington said: “Highland Councillors have an opportunity on Tuesday to demonstrate a long-sighted and enlightened approach to what is fast becoming a clash between the Scottish Government’s energy policy and the superb mountain landscapes for which Scotland is internationally famous. We call on them to show leadership to the rest of the nation and demonstrate that whilst we may need renewable energy we do not need it at any price. It is time to value what we have.”

The council’s own draft planning guidance proposes that the Monadliath Mountains should be protected from development. However, a number of applications are already in the planning system and one scheme, Dunmaglass, has been consented.

Steven Turnbull added: “The new guidance should improve things by steering development away from wild landscapes such as the Monadliath Mountains, but it could be too late by the time it is implemented.”

Outdoor author, photographer and former President of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Chris Townsend is spokesman for the Save the Monadhliath Mountains campaign against the plans. Chris, who lives in the Cairngorms National Park, says: “The SMM campaign group is hugely encouraged with the level of support we’ve received so far… We want to send a very clear message to the councillors that has been a driving force behind the campaign since the very start – Allt Duine is a wind farm too far.”

Formal objections have been lodged with the Scottish Government by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, John Muir Trust, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Scottish Campaign for National Parks and key local estates.