Jeremy Watson Published at 12:01AM, October 29 2013 Climbers and walkers are staying away from the Scottish hills because of the spread of wind farms across the countryside, according to mountaineering experts. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) says there is growing evidence that visitors are going abroad or to less affected areas in England as a result of the boom in renewable energy projects. The council is carrying out a survey of its 11,800 members to determine what impact the proliferation of wind farms is having on one of the biggest money earners in remote rural areas. Neil Reid, its communications officer, said: “The general impression we get from climbers and walkers is that although some do not care about wind farms the majority do believe there is an adverse effect because of how much they are spreading in mountain areas.” The MCofS has raised its concerns following an official report published earlier this year which found that wind turbines are now visible from almost half of the Scottish countryside. Scottish Natural Heritage, the government’s countryside agency, said that turbines can now be seen from 42 per cent of Scotland compared with 20 per cent five years ago. The MCofS director for landscape and access, David Gordon, said: “Developers and government repeatedly draw on the same few studies, some well out of date, to say that wind farms have no impact on recreation and tourism. Anecdotally, MCofS hears differently. We hear that people are beginning to avoid certain areas, are visiting less frequently, are going to Cumbria or abroad more often.” Hamish MacInnes, the veteran mountaineer, said he had also heard that climbers were planning to stay away. “I think they will come less often if this is allowed to continue,” Mr MacInnes said. “I also think it will have an effect on film companies coming to Scotland, which will further affect the economy.” Earlier this year, Mr MacInnes, former leader of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team, played a central role in a campaign to stop 17 turbines, each of which were 416ft (127 metre) high, planned for Clach Liath, a hill in the Ben Wyvis massif in the Highlands. “These were big turbines that would have been seen for many miles around,” Mr MacInnes said. “At least in this case sense prevailed.” VisitScotland estimates that hillwalking and climbing is worth £533 million to the Scottish economy every year. The Scottish Tory energy spokesman, Murdo Fraser said: “If climbers are being driven away by wind farms, that is another disgraceful knock-on effect of the SNP’s determination to cover rural Scotland in turbines.” The Scottish government is encouraging renewable energy projects to reduce reliance on fossil fuels such as oil and gas to generate electricity and to cut emissions of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. So far 115 wind farm schemes have been approved in Scotland, while 70 further applications are in the pipeline and there are 92 sites being assessed for suitability. Scotland’s largest nature conservation charity is also raising concerns and has formally objected to an application for a 47-turbine wind farm in the Flow Country peatlands in Caithness. RSPB Scotland said yesterday that the development proposed by SSE, owners of Scottish Hydro, was “one of the most worrying it has ever seen” as the peatlands provided a vital home for rare and endangered breeding birds including the golden eagle, hen harrier, merlin and golden plover. It said the development would put the birds at serious risk.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 10:18:02 +0000
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