Controversial plans for nine, one hundred and two metre tall, wind turbines have been withdrawn by the developers.
The developers, a partnership between Wind Prospect Developments Limited and EDF Energy, have withdrawn an application submitted in February for nine wind turbines on land at Mount Lothian.
This withdrawal comes a day before a large scale public pre-determination meeting was due to be held in Penicuik Town Hall, a move which has been described by the opposition as meaning “a considerable waste of time and effort both by the Council and by PEPA” . It also “suggested panic by the company.”
The reasoning behind the abandonment of the project is unknown however the vast criticism of the application is cited as the main reasoning; 1080 objections against the proposal were sent in total.
Professor Tony Trewavas FRS, chairman of the opposition group PEPA has explained his, and his organisation’s, reasoning behind objecting to the development:
Wind Energy companies have no concern for those they damage by their proposals, driven as they are by grossly excessive profits to be gained by despoiling treasured and precious landscapes, damaging tourist employment and wild life alike and sharing the proceeds with local landowners who do nothing for it. This proposal threatened to demean the quality of life for all Midlothian residents.
More to follow…