Wind farm plan taken to appeal for third time

A wind farm project in southern Scotland has been taken to appeal for the third time.

The scheme at Garcrogo Hill and Barmark Hill, near Corsock in Dumfries and Galloway, would involve the construction of seven turbines.

A previous bid for nine turbines was refused at appeal in August 2022 and revised plans were turned down again in 2024.

Now developers have lodged a fresh appeal with the Scottish government in order to allow a proposal for seven turbines to proceed.

The first appeal was refused on landscape and visual grounds, specifically in relation to the 200m (650ft) height of the proposed turbines, which a reporter considered to be out of scale with their surroundings when viewed from certain locations.

On the second occasion, the turbine height was reduced to 180m (590ft) and the number of turbines cut from nine to seven.

That bid was refused on the grounds that the project did not comply with the development plan due to a lack of sufficient information relating to biodiversity enhancement and peat disturbance.

Developers have gone back to the Scottish government for a third time after Dumfries and Galloway Council failed to give a decision within the designated timescales.

They believe they have addressed the concerns raised during the last appeal and the project should be allowed to go ahead and could meet the electricity needs of more than 35,500 homes.

However, the local community council has opposed the scheme due to its visual impact and potential effect on tourism.