Convenient policy vacuum

In response to Vic Thomas’ letter (Undemocratic dream; SN 10/7/12) regarding wind farm planning policy: there’s no need to bring in more consultants, as they’ve already been here and done a landscape capacity study.

It formed the rationale for a draft Interim Planning Policy (IPP) on wind farms of over 20MW, which at the time was a requirement for local authorities under Scottish Planning Policy (SPP6).

This was in 2010, and was out for consultation at about the same time as the nine councillors voted to approve the Viking wind farm.

Indeed I believe the same landscape capacity study informed much of the planning officer’s report which recommended that the council object to the wind farm.

Since the consultation period ended in December 2010, that draft IPP has disappeared from public view (although I still have an electronic copy on my computer), and the Scottish government, rather conveniently for wind farm developers, no longer has SPP6 as a policy.

James Mackenzie
The Lea
Tresta