4 Mar 2026
Communities in the Scottish Borders have welcomed the unanimous decision by the planning committee of Scottish Borders Council to object to Scawd Law wind farm.
Rory Steel, Chair of Lauderdale Preservation Group, said: “I am relieved that the planning committee has objected to Scawd Law and I am grateful to them for undertaking a site visit. Conservation experts had already raised concerns about the potentially severe impact on the newly established, and very fragile, golden eagle population here.
“This decision illustrates the importance of the natural environment and wildlife to all of us living in the Scottish Borders. Where a development is proposed that will have a serious detrimental impact on the local environment and wildlife, we must be able to oppose it, for the good of everyone who lives, works or visits the Scottish Borders and for the sake of the next generation.”
Leading wildlife charity Restoring Upland Nature (RUN), home of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, had submitted a formal objection to the Scawd Law development, raising concerns over ‘dated, inaccurate’ data used by the developer to assess the impact of the wind farm on the vulnerable golden eagle population in the region.
NatureScot had also registered its opposition to the scheme due to the threat to birdlife.
Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, recently visited one of the sites used for golden eagle conservation and praised the work of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, saying: “This project shows what can be achieved when conservation, local communities and land managers work together. The golden eagle is no longer just a symbol of our wild landscapes. It is once again part of them.”
Dr Cat Barlow, CEO of RUN, commenting on the Scawd Law proposals said: “We strongly support the role of well-sited renewable energy developments in tackling the climate crisis and safeguarding nature in the long term. However, we are concerned that the inappropriate siting of wind farms risks displacing golden eagles from the important landscapes they depend on. This would diminish the fantastic success we have all achieved to date and undermine the considerable tourism and community benefits founded on the growing golden eagle population. Amidst the nature-climate crisis, it is vital that existing and newly established golden eagle ranges remain intact to support long-term population recovery.
“The Southern Uplands are already experiencing intense development pressures. This reinforces the urgent need for an up-to-date, regional cumulative impact assessment, covering wind farms, forestry and other land-use changes, to ensure informed decisions are made to ensure nature and local communities thrive, with golden eagles at the heart of this.
“After comparing proposals with the insights provided by our state-of-the art monitoring equipment and detailed field observations by our highly experienced staff, we do not believe Scawd Law in the Moorfoot Hills is the right place for a wind farm development.”
Despite the local authority objection, the Scottish government still has the power to use its Energy Consents Unit to grant approval for the scheme.
Rory Steel continued: “The question now is whether the Scottish government will overrule Scottish Borders Council and force this development through. If they were to do so it would risk all the hard work put in by volunteers, conservationists and landowners to bring golden eagles back to the Borders for the first time in a hundred years.”
The Scawd Law scheme submitted by Fred Olsen Renewables, encompasses eight turbines of up to 180 metres in height, battery storage, approximately 6.8 km of new access tracks, associated infrastructure including substation, control building and compound, underground electricity cables, drainage and drainage attenuation measures, plus anemometry mast.