![\"View](\"\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/aonach.jpg\")
<\/a>View from Ston an Aonaich Mhoir<\/a> – the approach would be through the windfarm<\/p><\/div> If approved the windfarm would be built only 1300 metres from the Rannoch and Glen Lyon National Scenic Area (NSA) and 10 kilometres from the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe NSA. Scottish Natural Heritage has objected to the \u2018significant adverse effect\u2019 that the wind farm would have on the special landscape characteristics of both these areas. The turbines would also be visible from the iconic West Highland Railway line and the A82 \u2018road to Glen Coe.\u2019 <\/p>\n The proposal is wholly within one of SNH\u2019s newly identified Wild Land Areas and flies in the face of 2014 Scottish Government planning guidelines that recently committed to value and protect Scotland\u2019s wildest landscapes. <\/p>\n John Muir Trust\u2019s Head of Policy Helen McDade said: \u201cThis proposal could be damaging to Scotland\u2019s international image. This development threatens to turn one of Scotland\u2019s most famed landscapes of open moor and mountain grandeur into a semi- industrial landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m all for sensitively sited low carbon energy but you really couldn\u2019t dream up a worse place to put a massive windfarm in Scotland. With Scotland\u2019s reputation for stunning landscapes at stake I hope and expect our MSP\u2019s to stand up for wild Rannoch, Scotland\u2019s image abroad and the future of our tourist industry in today\u2019s parliamentary debate.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a real test case for the Scottish Government\u2019s recent commitment to protect our wildest landscapes. MSPs need to give a clear cross-party commitment to upholding the principles of the new planning policy and Wild Land Areas map, which recognise the huge role played by Scotland\u2019s wild land to our quality of life, our national identify and the visitor economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Murdo Fraser MSP for Mid Lothian and Fife wants all parties to unite to behind opposition to the Talladh-a-Bheithe wind farm development and is leading debate in the Scottish Parliament at around 5PM on Tuesday 30th of September. Scottish Natural Heritage, the government\u2019s natural heritage adviser, has submitted a strongly worded objection to the scheme and stresses that \u201ca wind farm in this location would result in significant adverse impacts on a range of nationally and internationally important natural heritage features.\u201d SNH objects in particular on account of the impacts on an area which they say \u201cepitomises the essence of the Highlands.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed wind farm development has been submitted by Netherlands-based developer, Eventus BV, of which the Talladh-a-Bheithe landowner is a major shareholder. There have been around a thousand objections to this scheme, including the John Muir Trust, Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Keep Rannoch Wild, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and SEPA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leading conservation charity the John Muir Trust warned today (Tuesday 30th September) that the proposed Talladh-a-Bheithe windfarm in Rannoch, being discussed this afternoon in the Scottish Parliament, could have a disastrous impact on Scotland’s reputation for spectacular landscapes. If approved the wind farm will adversely affect views from 5% of Scotland’s 282 Munros, including Buachaille Etive Mor and Schiehallion, which the John Muir Trust has looked after since 1989. Celebrated in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s Kidnapped and films such as The 39 Steps and Trainspotting, Rannoch Moor is one of the largest remaining wild areas in Scotland and…<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation","category-walking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11616"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11617,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11616\/revisions\/11617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCelebrated in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s Kidnapped and films such as The 39 Steps and Trainspotting, Rannoch Moor is one of the largest remaining wild areas in Scotland and a defining landscape for the country\u2019s identity abroad. If approved the development would see 24 turbines up to 125m high being erected between Loch Rannoch and Loch Ericht. There would also be 12.8 kilometres of new access tracks plus associated buildings and infrastructure. <\/p>\n
\nThe proposal is in the Wild Land Area 14. It is the first Section 36 application for a development in a Wild Land Area since the adoption on 23 June 2014 of new planning policy guidelines in the National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP2). Section 4.4 of NPF3 states: \u201cWe also want to continue our strong protection for our wildest landscapes \u2013 wild land is a nationally important asset.\u201d <\/p>\n