1 Jul 2025
Scottish Borders councillors have taken a united stand against a highly controversial wind farm proposal near Tweedsmuir, unanimously agreeing to formally object to a scheme that would see industrial-scale turbines towering over the historic village.
The proposed Oliver Forest Wind Farm, located on land north of Menzion Farm, is the latest in a growing list of developments threatening the character and tranquility of the Scottish Borders.
The application, submitted under a Section 36 request to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit, includes plans for seven turbines, each reaching up to 200 metres (650 feet) in height, as well as a site for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
However, after visiting the proposed location, the Planning & Building Standards Committee of Scottish Borders Council (SBC) confirmed what many local residents have long feared: this development would have “significant adverse landscape and visual impacts.”
At the committee meeting on Monday, June 26, Councillor Eric Small (Conservative, Tweeddale West) voiced his concerns following the site visit: “When we were in Tweedsmuir village itself, I think the impact this would have on that small community is simply not acceptable. They are already surrounded by other wind farms — to impose yet another on them is just too much.”
Councillor Viv Thomson (SNP, Tweeddale West) supported this view, adding: “When we stood in Tweedsmuir, we saw the visualisation — and the turbines didn’t look remote. They looked like they would actually come into the village and tower over it.”
Their statements reflect the deep frustration felt by many residents across the Borders who are witnessing an accelerating spread of industrial energy infrastructure across once-peaceful hillsides.
A report submitted to the committee made it clear: the visual and environmental damage of the wind farm far outweighs any supposed benefit. The report concludes: “The degree of demonstrable harm caused by significant and unacceptable adverse effects on the environment… is not considered sufficient to outweigh the significant adverse environmental impacts of the development.”
This professional assessment affirms what campaigners have long argued – that large-scale wind developments are being approved with little regard for landscape preservation, community well-being, or the long-term cost to the countryside.
Despite the council’s strong and unanimous objection, the final decision lies with the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU).