{"id":11216,"date":"2014-07-14T16:44:10","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T16:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=11216"},"modified":"2014-07-21T08:11:23","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T08:11:23","slug":"local-residents-launch-keep-rannoch-wild-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/local-residents-launch-keep-rannoch-wild-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Local residents launch Keep Rannoch Wild campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

The people of Rannoch have launched a \u2018Keep Rannoch Wild\u2019 campaign to resist plans for a windfarm on a key area of Scotland’s newly officially-identified wild land. <\/p>\n

Many of the population are already supporting Keep Rannoch Wild and the number is growing all the time \u2013 so too is the number of formal objections lodged against the Talladh a Bheithe wind farm scheme. <\/p>\n

Campaigners will work with the John Muir Trust, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and alongside local estates and others in fighting to preserve the wild lands which make this area special.<\/p>\n

Douglas Wynn, a spokesman for Keep Rannoch Wild, said: \u201cThis scheme is simply an attempt to make huge private profits by creating an ugly industrial development on lands in the Perthshire Highlands that are renowned as a wild and beautiful place for people and nature. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been delighted by the strength of local feeling against the wind farm and the determination of most residents, businesses and estates to protect Rannoch as one of Scotland\u2019s great unspoiled places.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep Rannoch Wild is calling on Perth and Kinross councillors to join us in opposing this scheme and to press Scottish Ministers to make sure it is rejected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"rannoch\"<\/a>
\nThe proposed site on Talladh a Bheithe Estate lies between the remote Ben Alder group of hills to the north and Schiehallion and Cross Crags to the south, all frequented by eagles and many species of protected birds. <\/p>\n

The scheme is would be against the Scottish Government\u2019s new planning guidance. This promises \u2018significant protection\u2019 for much of Scotland\u2019s wild land, including the area of the proposed wind farm. It also seeks a complete ban on wind farm developments in National Scenic Areas.<\/p>\n

The Talladh a Bheithe application, lodged the same day the new guidance was published, proposes:
\n\u00b7 24 huge wind turbines, each 410ft tall, in wild and empty land
\n\u00b7 bulldozing and widening the access track through the Tay Forest National Scenic Area
\n\u00b7 bulldozing a new network of service tracks at the site
\n\u00b7 constructing a series of assorted buildings<\/p>\n

Planning policy requires a balance to be struck between the Scottish Government\u2019s policies to extend renewable energy and the loss and damage that might impose on valued landscapes and habitats.<\/p>\n

Mr Wynn said: \u201cThis is an area recognised for its wild land qualities and habitat value for several protected species. We believe that the loss and damage to this irreplaceable landscape makes this \u2018a site too far\u2019. We will work with like-minded allies to demonstrate that this project is much too damaging to be allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the local community and businesses have found it necessary to liaise with the developers, as they would with any major proposal affecting the area, many appear to have become increasingly opposed to this wind farm the more they learn.<\/p>\n

Link: Keep Rannoch Wild<\/a>
\nLink: MCofS campaign page – how you can help<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The people of Rannoch have launched a \u2018Keep Rannoch Wild\u2019 campaign to resist plans for a windfarm on a key area of Scotland’s newly officially-identified wild land. Many of the population are already supporting Keep Rannoch Wild and the number is growing all the time \u2013 so too is the number of formal objections lodged against the Talladh a Bheithe wind farm scheme. Campaigners will work with the John Muir Trust, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and alongside local estates and others in fighting to preserve the wild lands which make this area special. Douglas Wynn, a spokesman for Keep…<\/span> <\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/div>\n

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