Wind farms inquiry cost Moray Council at least £150k
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A public inquiry into two wind farm applications has cost the Moray Council more than £150,000.
Clash Gour near Forres and Rothes iii on Speyside were both originally rejected by the local authority.
However these decisions were overturned last month by the Scottish Government following the inquiry, which was held outside Moray in Aveimore.
The £150,000 figure only relates to external expenditure and does not include staff time.
It was revealed at a meeting of the planning committee after councillor Derek Ross (Speyside/Glenlivet, Independent) asked a question about the costs.
There was a collective intake of breath from those in the chamber as legal services manager Aileen Scott revealed the amount.
Mrs Scott said: "It was a complex inquiry.
"There were two sites, we had two landscape consultants, we had external advisors and the inquiry was held in Aviemore as it was in Covid.
"So that doesn’t take account of staff time, and there was considerable input.
"It was a significant cost."
Mrs Scott added that while there was a lot of support for the landscape arguments put forward by the council, the scales were tipped the other way by climate change and the need for renewables.
Cllr Ross said: "It’s an affront to local democracy.
"If we’re not going to put our representations in because it’s actually going to cost too much, I think that’s very sad.
"I see very little point in employing planning officers and electing councillors if our decision making is overturned every time."
The windfarms received consent last month, having been opposed by Moray councillors in 2018.
The Clash Gour scheme will see developers EDF Renewables and Glasgow-based Force9 Energy build 48 turbines with tip heights of 425ft-590ft.
These will be sited on land at Dunphail estate, Altyre estate and Dallas Forest, around seven miles south of Forres and 10 miles south-west of Elgin.
The energy firms say it will have the capacity to power 145,000 homes once complete.
The Rothes iii scheme is the work of Fred. Olsen Renewables.
It involves 29 turbines in the vicinity of the hill of Carn na Calliche, approximately three miles west of Rothes, but to the east of the existing Rothes i and ii wind farms.
The council is the only consultee regarding section 36 onshore electrical generation applications, so if it objects a public inquiry is automatically triggered.
Mrs Scott said: "We’ll now have to look at the impact of resources when an application like that comes up again.
"We can’t compromise our principles but we will have to look at how those are represented. It’s a discussion we need to have."
