Landscape
From its spectacular views across rolling hills and spectacular valleys to the iconic River Tweed, the Scottish Borders’ landscape is steeped in rich history. It is a region cherished by those who live in it, but is also loved by the droves of visitors it attracts. Striking the right balance between preserving this wonderful landscape and the energy needs of this and future generations is a formidable challenge.
Often located in areas of natural beauty, it is understandable that local residents are frequently sceptical of the prospect of large wind turbines across their landscapes, impacting the views which have been cherished for generations. There are ways of reducing the visual impact of wind farms which can be explored during the consultation stage, such repositioning or reducing the number of turbines. However, the reality is that a wind farm will have a significant effect on the landscape.
During the application period, wind farm developments undergo a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment. The LVIA also considers any cumulative landscape and visual effects which may arise as a result of a wind farm development. Additionally, wind farm developments are subjected to a Residential Visual Amenity Assessment (RVAA) which is a stage beyond LVIA and focuses exclusively on private views and private visual amenity.
Cumulative impact Cumulative impacts are the combined effect of a set of developments.
This assesses:
The distance between individual wind turbine developments.
The distance and area over which they are visible.
The siting, design and size of wind turbines and wind farms.
The number of already operational wind farms in the Scottish Borders coupled with the sizeable number of proposed schemes in the pipeline, has made cumulative impact a key issue in the wind farm debate.