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22/03/2010 The Court of Session in Edinburgh has quashed a decision by the Scottish Government to reject the application for the 14-turbine Stacain wind farm near Inveraray.
The wind farm was originally granted planning consent locally by Argyll and Bute Council in December 2007.
However, in March 2008, the Scottish Government ‘called in’ the project to examine, through a Public Inquiry, objections raised by Scottish National Heritage. This resulted in the local planning decision being overturned on the sole basis that it might one day fall within a Special Protection Area for golden eagles.
In the Court of Session, the Scottish Government conceded that it failed to take into account new information which showed that effects on eagles had been over-estimated. As a result, the Court of Session quashed the decision.
The project may now revert to a public inquiry, which would allow full and proper evaluation of the compelling scientific evidence presented by Stacain Wind Farm, that the wind farm presents no material risk to golden eagles.
A spokesperson for Stacain Wind Farm said:
“The decision by the Scottish Government to overturn the decision by the local Council was fundamentally flawed. We therefore had no choice other than to take this matter to Court not only for this project, but to avoid the setting of a dangerous precedent for the wind industry.
“Stacain wind farm has been in the planning process since 2005 and we are now hopeful that our application will be given full and due consideration. It is to be hoped that the clear scientific evidence, showing that there is no material risk to the eagle population, will be objectively considered and the wishes of the local democratically-elected council will be respected.
“It is completely impractical that we should find ourselves five years down the line with an undetermined planning application. Nevertheless, the Court’s decision is positive news for the wind industry and for the future of wind energy development in Scotland.”
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