Public inquiry for wind farm

The firm behind the proposal to set up a wind energy project conversely situated from the Rothesay Bay has lodged an appeal against the move by the local councillors to refuse to grant the wind energy scheme the required planning permission.

Cowal Wind Energy Ltd which is based in the Mold part of Flintshire lodged the appeal against the unanimous move by Bute and Cowal councillors to deny the wind energy developer permission to set a wind energy scheme on Corlarach Hill. The wind farm was to comprise of fourteen wind turbines.

After the appeal was lodged, a decision on the application will involve a public hearing which is expected to be held towards the end of the year. The names of those expected to make an appearance at the public inquiry are yet to be known. The exact dates and venues are also yet to be decided.

The application for planning permission for a wind farm was unanimously rejected by members of the committees of the local authorities after what had a lengthy meeting held in Dunoon at the Queen’s Hall. This was at the beginning of the year. Cowal Wind Energy, the firm behind the proposed wind farm is West Coast Energy Ltd’s subsidiary.

The application by Cowal Wind Energy received both support and opposition. More than nine hundred and forty two letters were sent of which seven hundred and forty declared their support for the plans and the wind farm. Suspicion about the project arose when it was realised that most of the support hailed from areas as far away as Mississauga in Ontario Canada. There was also some support from France and even from Dubai.