Stornoway Wind Farm Ltd, a joint venture by giant French nuclear group EDF and Amec Foster Wheeler has applied to the Scottish Land Court to for permission develop a wind farm on common grazings on the Isle of Lewis – thereby throwing out the rights of local crofters under section 19A Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993.
Stornoway Wind Farm Ltd want to build up to 36 wind turbines – each with a maximum vertical height of 145 meters – with a maximum generating capacity of 180MW some two miles to the west of the town.
The planned new wind farm affects the common grazings at Aignish, Garrabost and New Garrabost, Holm, Melbost and Branahuie, New Valley, Guershader and Laxdale Lane, Sandwick and Sandwick East Street, Sandwick North Street, Sheshader and Stornoway General.
In particular, four island townships -Melbost and Branahuie, Sandwick East Street, Sandwick North Street and Aginish — which made applications to the Crofting Commission nearly a year ago for wind turbines on their parts of the common grazings – stand to lose the most.
Their turbines would be sited in virtually the same place as EDF’s proposed turbines. If the Land Court finds in favour of the private consortium the crofters’ will lost the rights to develop in these place for 70 years.
The deadline for anyone wanting to send an objection to the EDF scheme to the Land Court is Thursday, 24 August 2017.
21 Aug 2017
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