Monday, July 25, 2011
Plans for a £21 million wind farm in Angus have gone on display,
and seem to have been well received by community groups.
Members of Arbroath Community Council attended the event alongside
representatives of a range of other agencies for a first look at
mock-ups of what the seven-turbine development could look
like.
A series of information displays were set up at the consultation in
Angus College, providing views of the wind farm to be positioned
3km east of Carnoustie and 2.5km west of Arbroath.
As part of the project from West Coast Energy, profits from a
"community turbine" would be channelled into initiatives in both
towns and the wider area surrounding the site off the A92 at Hatton
Wastewater Treatment Works.
Most of the community group members at Tuesday's launch agreed
that an over-arching body would have to be set up to work with the
firm to ensure the funding boost - of up to £75,000 in year one -
went to the right places.
Chairman of Arbroath Community Council Pat Millar said, "I will
have to bring forward the proposals to our full meeting in August.
It is nice to see area groups getting together with a common aim
and, hopefully, if all goes well we can take a decision to look at
the best way forward for all concerned.
"Nothing needs to be rushed or decided quickly. The planning
application hasn't gone in yet so there is plenty of time for us
all to come together and talk."
Roger Brunton of Carnoustie Community Centre Action Group said
the key point to be decided would be who takes ultimate
responsibility for where the funding is directed. He added,
"The difficulty is going to be down the road, when it comes to
asking who is going to decide what goes where.
"So far in Carnoustie we really only have the community centre
project coming forward, but in Arbroath you have around 10
different things that could be doing with support."
West Coast's planning and development director Stephen Salt was
on hand to field questions from the invited guests, who were given
a preview of the plans an hour-and-a-half before they went on
public display.
He said, "What we want to do is engage the local community with
a view to establishing a working group that can cover all areas
around the wind farm. We want to make sure that what we do here is
something that is going to benefit both Arbroath and Carnoustie
over a long period of time."
Morag McKenzie of Volunteer Centre Angus said she was keen to
gauge how beneficial the project would be, adding, "I think it is a
good way forward. When something like this comes around you have
got to look at it properly."
The vice-chairman of Arbroath's Timmergreens Action Group, Kevin
Barthorpe, said that while he personally did not like wind farms,
he could see the benefit for the wider community.
"I think what is being proposed is very ambitious," he said.
"Quite often investment goes Angus-wide but on this occasion it is
being targeted into the local area to help local groups. That can
only be a good thing."
