A HERITAGE watchdog has withdrawn its objection to a major wind farm earmarked for land south of Hawick after the project was scaled back.
Heritage watchdog Historic Environment Scotland (HES) had warned it would try to block original proposals by Muirhall Energy to erect 62 turbines with tip heights of 240 metres to create the Teviot wind farm in open countryside on land east of Priesthaugh.
The agency feared the project would compromise Hermitage Castle, one of the finest examples of a medieval castle in Scotland, and other monuments of national importance – the Tinlee Standing Stone, a 1.35-metre high pre-historic stone, and the Catrail Earthworks.
But in a newly published submission to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit, HES says the removal of some of the turbines coupled with “mitigation measures” means it will not now object to the scheme – although it is conceded one of the turbines will still have an impact on the castle which has associations with Mary Queen of Scots and Sir Walter Scott.
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Muirhall Energy has made ‘significant changes’ to project plans for its proposed Teviot Wind Farm in an updated submission to the Scottish Government.
The developer is now proposing 53 turbines, down from 62 in its original application, and a new wind farm layout.
These changes should result in reduced visibility of the project, and the company has also removed proposals for a solar array.
The changes have been after public consultation and feedback from consultees, such as NatureScot, on the original application, which was submitted in May 2022.
In its statement, HES explains its U-turn: “Our key interests in this case relate to the potential impacts on the setting of the designated historic environment assets in the vicinity of the proposed development. We welcome the work that has been done to date to address the impact on the historic environment.”
“However, we consider that the design revisions presented in the AEI Report have considerably reduced the visibility of the wind farm on this key approach to Hermitage Castle. Following the mitigation the effect has been reduced to a level where it would no longer significantly affect the integrity of setting of the scheduled monument or raise issues of national interest.”
There remains an objection to the wind farm from Kenneth Moffatt, who operates the Johnnie Armstrong Gallery and Borderlands Museum at Teviothead alongside the A7 trunk road.
In his lengthy written objection to the wind farm, Moffatt writes: “We have constantly been involved in raising the profile and attempting to have the archaeology and the cultural heritage of the region both recognised and recorded, as an asset for the area.
“No consultation has taken place with local businesses on the Teviot windfarm footprint, other than the limited few who appear to be financially involved, directly or indirectly, with the proposal.
“The broader region in which the Teviot wind farm proposal is set has a total of 408 recorded prehistoric hillforts. This is the highest concentration of hillforts found anywhere in Scotland, Ireland, England or Wales. In fact this is 25 percent of the total number of hillforts found in Scotland, and 10 per cent of the total found across the UK and Ireland combined.”
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The turbines capacity is expected to be in the region of 350MW, which would see the project create a community benefit fund of close to £2.5m, as a result of Muirhall Energy’s commitment to community funding of £7,000 for every MW of built capacity.
Kelly Wyness, senior project manager at Muirhall Energy, said: “We have taken on board the feedback from our public consultation events and submissions from statutory consultees, and worked closely with our landscape architects to create a revised layout which significantly reduces the number of turbines and visibility of the development from the A7.
“While we are now proposing fewer turbines, the project would still make an important contribution towards Scotland’s renewable energy and climate change targets and deliver a significant community benefit fund to be invested in the local area.”
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