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An analysis of community objections to a recent UK onshore wind farm planning application

An analysis of community objections to a recent UK onshore wind farm planning application. Mhairi Aitken Seonaidh McDonald Peter Strachan. In this presentation:. Objections discussed in the literature Introduction to the case Methods Preliminary analysis Objection themes

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An analysis of community objections to a recent UK onshore wind farm planning application

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  1. An analysis of community objections to a recent UK onshore wind farm planning application Mhairi Aitken Seonaidh McDonald Peter Strachan

  2. In this presentation: • Objections discussed in the literature • Introduction to the case • Methods • Preliminary analysis • Objection themes • Modes of objection • Generic objections • Conclusions

  3. Objections discussed in the literature • Visual Impact • Reliability • Suitability • Noise • Cost effectiveness • Environmental impact • Community impact

  4. Drumderg: the site • Hillside in rural Perthshire, Scotland, UK • Situated between two small towns (largest population 1700) • Local tourist industry • A93 tourist route to Scottish Highlands • Cateran Trail • Nearby Dun Moss and Forest of Alyth are SSSI and cSAC • Perth and Kinross Council have never approved a planning application for a wind farm

  5. Drumderg: the story so far • Scottish and Southern Energy (major player in the UK energy market) proposed a 16 turbine 32MW wind farm • Planning permission application attracted an unprecedented number of objections • Planning officials recommended rejection • Councillors accepted the proposal • Public outcry • SSE given more time to address some of the concerns • Planning officials recommended approval • Councillors rejected the proposal • Public inquiry (closing arguments on Wednesday!)

  6. Methods • Qualitative study • Analysed all 700 objections to Perth and Kinross Council in response to the original planning application • Individual letters • Proforma letters • Proforma cards • Developed a series of codes corresponding to different themes of objection through an inductive and iterative process • Applied the codes to all objections and analysed using descriptive statistics • Preliminary results are presented here

  7. Drumderg Objection themes Environmental degradation The wind turbines Wind power technology Archaeology Traffic and roads Impact on individuals or families Tourism Ornithology

  8. Comparison of themes across types Letters Proforma cards Proforma letters

  9. Concerns raised in cards and letters

  10. Traffic and roads Damage to the Church wall Reduction in parking on specific streets Cutting back of mature trees on specific stretch of road Traffic speed and volume at a specific junction Increased pressure on local accident blackspot Traffic jams affecting school bus, emergency services and commuters on specific routes Tourism Job losses Less visitors Reduced income for local business Local and Generic objections

  11. Conclusions • Proformas signed by individuals are a very successful strategy for influencing local government process; proformas signed by many are not • For Drumderg the proformas have not added spurious objections but they have changed the relative weight of different concerns • Analysis reveals some generic objections, but also some which have not been used • Objections range across the domains of many stakeholders • Objectors should not be conceptualised as a homogeneous group

  12. An analysis of community objections to a recent UK onshore wind farm planning application Mhairi Aitken Seonaidh McDonald Peter Strachan

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