Cairngorms park planners recommend no objection to latest turbines for Monadhliaths
Cairngorms National Park Authority planning officers are recommending there should be no objection to plans for a wind farm which could form part of a huge swathe of turbines.
Dell Wind Farm Ltd has applied for up to nine turbines with four additions up to 190m blade tip and five up to 200m in height.
The site is located approximately 11 kilometres east of Fort Augustus on the western edge of the Monadhliaths.
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Members of the CNPA’s planning committee will consider the application tomorrow at their headquarters in Grantown.
CNPA planning officer Sarah Fletcher states in her report: “There are numerous other existing and consented wind farms in the surrounding area plus several at proposed application stage.
“Immediate to the Dell 2 Wind Farm site boundary, the operational development boundary of Stronelairg Wind Farm sits, the 67 turbines - 56 at 135m blade tip height, and 11 at 125m blade tip height - extending south and eastwards away from Dell 2.
“Corriegarth Wind Farm comprising 23 turbines - 120m blade tip height - exists approximately 7.8km north-east of the Dell 2 site.
“In terms of consented but not yet operational development, Cloiche Wind Farm - 37 turbines at 149.9m blade tip height - is located approximately 2.6km to the southwest of Dell 2, and an extension to Corriegarth for 16 turbines (149.9m blade tip height) is currently at appeal and sits approximately 7.3km to the north-east of the site.”
Associated infrastructure includes around 16.1 kilometres of onsite access tracks, two borrow pits, substation, underground cabling, and a permanent anemometer mast.
The proposed vehicular site access is off the B862 running down the eastern side of Loch Ness.
It is expected that the proposed wind farm would have an estimated total installed capacity in the region of 60MW although no exact figure has been provided by the applicant.
The nearest turbine would be approximately 8.8 km to the northwest of the closest part of the boundary of the national park.
Ms Fletcher said the applicant’s submission shows that there would be negligible visibility of the proposed wind farm on its own from within the national park.
Recommending no objection, she states: “The majority of where it would be seen from is already influenced by visibility of a number of other existing and consented wind farms.”
The original Dell Wind Farm application was refused planning permission by Highland Council in October 2017 in relation to landscape and visual effects of the access track.
Planning permission was granted on appeal in August 2019 and remains valid until August 2024.
If the Dell 2 development is constructed it will replace the already approved turbines.
More on the proposed wind farm can be seen by clicking here.
