A CONTROVERSIAL wind farm proposed in the Borders has been rejected for a third time.

The eight-turbine project at Wull Muir, near Heriot, had previously been turned down by the council and on appeal by the Scottish Government.

But the local authority’s Planning and Building Standards Committee was recommended to approve the plan at its meeting on Monday (July 8).

Scottish Borders Council’s (SBC) chief planning officer, Ian Aikman, told members the revised and slightly re-located bid could be approved ‘on balance’ because of the government’s new planning framework, which looks favourably upon wind farm applications.

But on a vote of six to three, the committee refused the proposal due to the negative visual impact it would have on the landscape.

Speaking on behalf of Heriot Community Council, John Campbell said: “This is the third time the community has gone through this application and they are feeling a bit hard done by, if I’m honest.

“The proposal will be overwhelmingly visible up close and at long distance, and local visual dominance is its primary characteristic.

“There are areas in Heriot and Nettlingflat, which is a settlement with 14 homes, 34 people, I’m told, where you will see it on every day of life at about two kilometres distance, which is nothing for turbines of this magnitude.”

Michael Briggs, on behalf of the applicant Energiekontor, said: “The key difference between the application we have before us today and the one that was previously refused on appeal is that we have reduced the landscape and visual impacts that were associated with the previous refusal and that weight given to the benefits of onshore wind in the planning balances has increased.”

The revised bid suggested increasing the size of the turbines to almost 150m.

Jedburgh councillor Sandy Scott read out a long list of organisations that raised no objection to the application and said the “clincher” for him was NPF4 – the recent Scottish Government planning framework which supports onshore wind farms.

He added: “NPF4 acknowledges that the meeting of net zero climate ambitions requires the transformation of all sectors of our economy and society and every decision on future developments must contribute to making Scotland a more sustainable place.”

Hawick & Denholm councillor Neil Richards was not convinced by that argument, saying: “NPF4? Should we just go home and let planners get on with it? Because that’s what it seems is being suggested, that there is no democratic involvement here.

“Our landscape architect has objected, so is this third time lucky and do we just keep on trying it again by switching it around a little bit? We have spoken twice on this subject, so no, it’s not going to be third time lucky as far as I’m concerned.”

There was a raft of objections submitted against the scheme, most notably from Heriot Community Council which submitted a comprehensive and detailed objection.

SBC’s landscape architect submitted a detailed report which stated there was a danger of turning the Lammermuirs/Moorfoot escarpment, a much-valued natural amenity, into a “wind farm landscape”.