Plans by two serial Scottish wind-farm developers to build a new project in the Borders have been recommended for refusal for a second time.
The first application for a 16-turbine wind farm on land north west of Gilston Farm, near Heriot village, was rejected by the Scot-Govt.
Now the developer Gilston Hill Wind Farm Ltd has submitted a second application for the same site, albeit with a cut in the number of wind turbines to seven, with a maximum blade-height of 126.5 metres for the 21-MW project.
The two principal directors of Gilston Hill Wind Farm Ltd are Alan Baker, 51, and Alasdair Macleod, respectively managing and development directors of Greenock-based 2020 Renewables, another wind-power development company. In total, Baker and MacLeod are directors of another 30 similar wind farm companies.
However, planning officials have advised Borders councillors to refuse the new plan due to its landscape impact. In addition to landscape impact, concerns have also raised about the possible impact on badgers in the area, about 15 miles south of Edinburgh.
26 Sept 2017
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