[Ed’s note. My apologies to Felicity Martin who wrote this briefing on the Glen Lednock windfarm application for Parkswatch 10 days ago but which I managed to miss while away. (I have added the illustrations from the planning application). Felicity wrote a piece on Oxygen Conservation and Glen Lednock in April which complements what she has written here (see here) and includes photos showing what is at stake. It is highly recommended reading].
[Author’s note: I’ve done a new blog post about the Save Glen Lednock campaign. Felicity]
Background
- the proposed development would represent a major visual intrusion in a district which is currently devoid of wind farms and is an important gateway into the Highlands
- the application has been submitted by Low Carbon, a sister company of Oxygen Conservation who own Invergeldie Estate; both are wholly owned subsidiaries of Oxygen House [Ed.OC have been buying up lots of land for “conservation” purposes including the Dorback Estate in the Cairngorms National Park (see here)]
- on an open day in September 2023, Oxygen Conservation introduced themselves as a green investment company who were going to restore biodiversity – with no mention of a wind farm despite direct questions about renewable energy
- with 19 mega-turbines – three up to 180m high, and 16 up to 200 metres high – the wind farm would industrialise a precious mountain landscape within three miles of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
- the turbines would despoil views both from within and across the River Earn National Scenic Area, between Comrie and St Fillans, and the Loch Rannoch & Glen Lyon National National Scenic Area, on the north side of Loch Tay
- the spinning blades would be visible from multiple locations because of their proposed siting on the southern boundary of the Highlands; the effect on the landscape would be even greater if adjacent Glen Tarken Wind Farm is approved with cumulatively 31 mega-turbines (and become overwhelming if Meallbrodden Energy Park is also approved east of Crieff)
- the wind farm would be sited on peatland of varying depths on the western portion of Invergeldie Estate; a large area of deep peat would be dug up and degraded to create turbine bases and access tracks (but Oxygen Conservation are applying for a public grant for peatland restoration on the east side of Invergeldie Estate)
- the 30-feet-wide route of the proposed 8-mile access road from the A85 would impact two SSSIs [Sites of Special Scientific Interest] and destroy the landscape quality of tranquil Glen Lednock, one of the loveliest in Perthshire – especially on steep slopes where the engineering corridor will be much wider
- approximately 5 miles of the new access road, in the southerly part of the glen, would be forged through woodland and across tranquil pastures, much of it wrecking a grassy Right of Way between Comrie and Loch Tay
- the upper part of the access would use the single-track public road for about a mile from Funtullich to Invergeldie, then a hydro board tarmac lane for about two miles – this route, well used by walkers and cyclists, would have to be widened and the ruins of the old Glenmaik (Glenn Mathaig) township flattened
- the construction phase would involve about 200 abnormal load movements carrying the huge turbine components, as well as hundreds of other heavy lorries, along the A85 and up Glen Lednock; local knowledge indicates that the proposed route is not viable without major engineering to sections of road and considerable tree felling (for instance a tree-lined right angle junction is in the plan at the foot of Highlandman Loan, a route that will bypass Crieff High Street but take the turbines past the High School, two Primary Schools and all the town’s supermarkets)
- much of the traffic, especially during construction of the access road, will use Monument Road from Comrie – a steep, narrow minor road with blind bends through Comrie Oakwoods SSSI – 1km of this is part of the popular Glen Lednock Circular walk (one of Comrie’s best known attractions).
- the developers have said to people living on the lower section of Monument Road that, during construction, they propose to close it to everyone except residents from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 7am to 4pm on Saturdays, preventing locals, and recreational users accessing Glen Lednock and the heavily used Invergeldie car park, the start point for hill walks, including the much-visited Munro, Ben Chonzie, as well as biking and rock climbing
- people living in the upper glen, who live beside the proposed turbine blade access route have asked for a meeting with the developers but have been told it will be after 21st deadline for representations
- the developers propose to house workers in local hotels and with other accommodation providers over two years of construction – the shortage of holiday accommodation and lack of access to Comrie’s best known recreational area will severely affect shops, eateries and tourism businesses in the village
- Golden Eagles currently breed in the upper glen and it is almost certain that they would be lost to the area due the erection of wind turbines near their breeding site
- in the application their Collision Risk Modelling estimates total collisions over the 40-year lifespan of the wind farm of: 14 Golden Eagles, 18 White-tailed Eagles, 112 Red Kites – but that is deemed acceptable because the modelling suggests that the extra deaths will not wipe out the population
- across the UK, the cost of switching off wind turbines and switching on gas generators when demand is low – is already £649m so far in 2025 (see here) and is likely to be £2.5bn by the year-end
- Scotland is now self-sufficient in electricity generation – we shouldn’t be destroying our treasured landscape, iconic wildlife and precious habitats just to send more electricity southwards
How to object
[Ed. while the official deadline for public comments is the date of this post, Monday 21st July, there is nothing to prevent people emailing in objections to the Energy Consents Unit after that. Copying in your MSP/s might encourage the ECU to consider “late” objections]
- Go to https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00004966 and click on Representation, then click on Register, then ‘click here’ to make a representation – or alternatively email your objection to representations@gov.scot or by post to Energy Consents Unit, 4th Floor, 5 Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, Glasgow G2 8LU
- Application name: Glen Lednock Wind Farm
- Application reference: ECU00004966 (zeros, not the letter ‘O’)
- Your full name in block capitals, email address and postal address including postcode
- Your grounds for objection
Do copy your objection to:
- Perth & Kinross Council – developmentmanagement@pkc.gov.uk
- Comrie Community Council – secretary@comrie.org.uk
- Save Glen Lednock campaign – saveglenlednock@gmail.com
More info:
- Low Carbon’s Glen Lednock Wind Farm website contains all application documents in order: https://www.glenlednockwindfarm.co.uk/
- https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00004966
- Save Glen Lednock campaign – https://www.facebook.com/groups/saveglenlednock
Please note, there are two other windfarms nearby that also feature these 200 m + turbines. One is Meall Dearg, which is just to the south of Aberfeldy, and the other is called North Logiealmond, which is just a few miles to the south of that. Both are in this same corridor as Invergeldie. For cumulative impact, you then have to add in the existing turbines at Griffin and North Calliacher, which, for context, are only half the size. There is no effort whatsoever to hide these new turbines. The developers will just shrug their shoulders and say, “It is what it is.”. The interesting thing is that hardly anyone is saying anything about it. The environmental groups who would normally be all over these schemes are missing in action completely.
This wind farm in not in either of the National Parks. Has this site decided that it will replicate the standard objections to almost every wind farm currently proposed in Scotland. If so, it would be good to know in advance as I can get this content from plenty of other NIMBY sources.
The normal environmental groups are not all over this as they accept the concept of a least bad option.
There is a case to be made for wind turbines, but 200 m + ones are just taking the p**s completely. They will be visible, and sometimes dominant, over a signifcant proportion of Highland Perthshire.
Ben Chonzie, on the north east side of Glen Lednock is an uninspiring Munro but, for me as a Beginner, proved to be a wonderful hill for ski touring. It will be completely ruined by this development. Why is this happening when there are so many other less important places for visitors?
I bet no one would be moaning if they got cheaper electric from it.
We should be so lucky! Scottish consumers pay more for electricity than those in England, despite being close its sources of generation. The Westminster government has dismissed zonal pricing, which would give us cheaper power (I suspect because they don’t want to see a drain of businesses from England to Scotland).
More seriously, I don’t think that would make a difference. Over 150 objections have gone in locally about this wind farm, despite the carrot (bribe) being dangled of £1000s from the developer going into community benefit.
Wrong!! I’d gladly pay more to see wind turbines going to less sensitive sites, preferably in the south, where the electricity is actually needed. Scotland is already overstocked.
Just a correction, the mid-estimate for Golden Eagle collisions = fatalities is 12 not 14. Re comments above, the development will impact Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park as Nature Scot explain in their objection to Glen Tarken windfarm which is effectively what the Glen Lednock wind farm is an extension of: 12 turbines + 19 turbines. The destruction of Glen Lednock itself for the proposed access road would cause misery to the inhabitants of Glen Lednock and of Comrie, and further back up the road all the way to Crieff, Perth and beyond, because of the huge number of goods vehicle journeys this construction will entail; that alone is in contravention to National Planning Framework 4. Bearing in mind there are transmission issues for the electricity produced, every household in the UK is estimated to be paying £150 a year to have turbines turned off at the moment, and Scotland does not need these turbines, we are due to hit our targets for on-shore wind power without this/these developments. IMHO these schemes are money making schemes for the investors and have very little to do with combating the climate emergency.
Protestors should also remind themselves of a sad set of facts. We may recall that in the early days of “windfarms” the projected lifespan of onshore turbines was championed as greater than 20 years. This has proved wishful. Statistics can be found online within ‘Institute of Engineering’ studies that confirm that wind turbines are short term energy intensive structures…globally. 1/3 of their productive lifspan is needed just to pay for each of them .
Many early turbine installations put in place during the late 1990’s are already beyond economic viability. They must be dismantled. The average viable life of these monstrosities now proves to be significantly less than 20 years. A whole new industry is needed to recycle parts of them..the vast blades… that have proved hard to find further uses for.
Some of the early structures on exposed ridges have suffered catastrophic failure during storms. Some have collapsed during blizzards and ice storms but many more are now deconstructed to make way for something even higher, more visually intrusive and more powerful.
The planning argument for renewal and enlargement of existing windfarms will prove to be far less strict: for it will be plain the site and region up for redevelopment is already despoiled.
The main point to make is this access road system is permanent. Solid well drained roadways will be needed for all time. Huge cranes and transporters will continue to need to reach the site of every development through decades into the future. Every single “fan” (!) we see today must be taken down again within 20 years or so. Many may well be renewed quite soon, but these new corporate investment ‘follies’ we must all pay for will become even bigger still.
I’ve done a new blog about the Save Glen Lednock campaign: https://open.substack.com/pub/felicitymartin/p/save-glen-lednock
Anyone wishing to make a submission should know that it is no longer possible to do so by clicking on the Representations tab. Your options are to send an email to representations@gov.scot or write a letter and post it. I only discovered this when they locked me out of my account for some unknown reason and I got in touch to ask for help.