A windfarm has been given the green light despite objections from Gleneagles golf resort, which said that it would have an “adverse impact” on business ahead of the Ryder Cup.
The Rhodders Wind Farm in the Ochils, between Blackford and Tillicoultry, was approved in the face of claims by the Ryder Cup venue that it would add to the “cumulative visual impact” of existing turbines.
The project was given the go-ahead following an appeal to the Scottish Government’s Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA).
Energy firm Wind Prospect wanted to add to the turbines in the area around Burnfoot Hill but Clackmannanshire Council threw out the scheme.
Now DPEA reporter Michael Cunliffe, who acts on behalf of Scottish Ministers, has overturned the council’s decision.
The 12MW scheme would power nearly 7,000 households, with access to the site from the A9 and A823 near Glendevon.
Mr Cunliffe said: “I consider the degree of non-conformity (to local development plan policies) to be relatively minor and outweighed by the material consideration of the scheme’s contribution to renewable energy needs.”
The scheme generated 51 letters of opposition, and the same number in support, with Gleneagles Hotel submitting an objection through its agent, Colliers.
A spokeswoman for the golf course said that, for the first time, views from the hotel would be affected by turbine hubs on the skyline and warned of a “windfarm landscape”.
The reporter said that significant “cumulative effects” of turbines in the area would only affect “recreational users of paths within the Ochil Hills”.
He said the additional impact at Gleneagles would be “neglible”, while in Braco the impact would be “noticeably greater”, with around five turbines visible, although they could be screened by vegetation.
The windfarm grouping’sappearance would be “slight”, while the visual effects would be “very minor” in Auchterarder.
The application was initially for nine turbines but this had been cut to six.