Plans for a £21 million wind farm in Angus have gone on display, and seem to have been well received by community groups.
Members of Arbroath Community Council attended the event alongside representatives of a range of other agencies for a first look at mock-ups of what the seven-turbine development could look like.
A series of information displays were set up at the consultation in Angus College, providing views of the wind farm to be positioned 3km east of Carnoustie and 2.5km west of Arbroath.
As part of the project from West Coast Energy, profits from a “community turbine” would be channelled into initiatives in both towns and the wider area surrounding the site off the A92 at Hatton Wastewater Treatment Works.
Most of the community group members at Tuesday’s launch agreed that an over-arching body would have to be set up to work with the firm to ensure the funding boost of up to £75,000 in year one went to the right places.
Chairman of Arbroath Community Council Pat Millar said, “I will have to bring forward the proposals to our full meeting in August. It is nice to see area groups getting together with a common aim and, hopefully, if all goes well we can take a decision to look at the best way forward for all concerned.
“Nothing needs to be rushed or decided quickly. The planning application hasn’t gone in yet so there is plenty of time for us all to come together and talk.”
Roger Brunton of Carnoustie Community Centre Action Group said the key point to be decided would be who takes ultimate responsibility for where the funding is directed.DifficultyHe added, “The difficulty is going to be down the road, when it comes to asking who is going to decide what goes where.
“So far in Carnoustie we really only have the community centre project coming forward, but in Arbroath you have around 10 different things that could be doing with support.”
West Coast’s planning and development director Stephen Salt was on hand to field questions from the invited guests, who were given a preview of the plans an hour-and-a-half before they went on public display.
He said, “What we want to do is engage the local community with a view to establishing a working group that can cover all areas around the wind farm. We want to make sure that what we do here is something that is going to benefit both Arbroath and Carnoustie over a long period of time.”
Morag McKenzie of Volunteer Centre Angus said she was keen to gauge how beneficial the project would be, adding, “I think it is a good way forward. When something like this comes around you have got to look at it properly.”
The vice-chairman of Arbroath’s Timmergreens Action Group, Kevin Barthorpe, said that while he personally did not like wind farms, he could see the benefit for the wider community.
“I think what is being proposed is very ambitious,” he said. “Quite often investment goes Angus-wide but on this occasion it is being targeted into the local area to help local groups. That can only be a good thing.”