1 Apr 2025
A large-scale renewable energy development described as a “blight on the skyline” has been formally opposed by Scottish Borders Council (SBC).
The plan to construct and operate Lees Hill Energy Park on land south of Black Hill Wind Farm at Longformacus was submitted by Fred Olsen Renewables to Scottish Ministers, but a meeting of the SBC's Planning & Building Standards Committee yesterday endorsed a recommendation from officers to object to the development.
The proposed development includes up to six wind turbines, each reaching a maximum tip height of 200m, along with solar PV arrays and battery storage units. The total generation capacity of the site would range between 100 MW and 200 MW.
As the relevant planning authority, SBC was consulted on the application, and officers raised significant concerns over its impact, stating it would cause a “significant and unacceptable adverse change to the existing landscape character of the area.”
Planning officers raised significant concerns over the impact of the project, stating that it would cause a “significant and unacceptable adverse change to the existing landscape character of the area.”
The report, written by Kyle Wise, also an SBC Planning Officer, outlined that the development would be detrimental to the Lammermuir Hills Special Landscape Area, particularly affecting the southern and central parts, which include the Dirrington Laws, Dirrington Great Law, and Dirrington Little Law. The report concluded that despite the encouragement given by NPF 4, any benefits of renewable generation in this location were simply not outweighed by the significantly adverse landscape and visual impacts.
Councillor Eric Small (Conservative, Tweeddale West) voiced strong opposition, stating: “We have been asked to accept too many wind farms, and I think this encroaches on the Lammermuir Hills, which is a beautiful area of the Scottish Borders. This would be a blight on the skyline.”
Councillor Viv Thomson (SNP, Tweeddale West) echoed these concerns, adding: “The scale of what we are being asked to approve today is immense. It’s not just six 200m high turbines, but also a solar array and battery storage spanning 69.3 hectares. The impact on the land would be huge.”
The only councillor to voice support for the proposal was Councillor Sandy Scott (Conservative, Jedburgh & District), who acknowledged he was the “odd one out” on the matter.
A council report recommending objection to the scheme concluded that the applicant had “failed to demonstrate that the indirect impacts of the development would not be significant and unacceptable on sites of national, regional, and local archaeological significance within and surrounding the site, primarily prehistoric cairns.”
The report further stated that these adverse impacts were not outweighed by the project’s contribution to renewable energy generation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
SBC’s formal opposition will now be submitted to Scottish Ministers as part of the ongoing planning process.