Knockodhar Wind Power Station - Ref ECU00002153  

7th March - the South Ayrshire council meeting was postponed and is not 28th March. I will be speaking if I'm allowed about the impact that this wind power station will have on our lives if consented and built.

21st December - South Ayrshire council have yet to put in an Objection or an Agreement and are having a meeting in 2024 to discuss this. Local residents are able to present to this panel and so we will do so as we can highlight the areas of concern to us. I'm hoping that South Ayrshire council object as this forces an Inquiry into the suitability of this area for this application.

16th September 2023 - Many thanks to everyone that has objected so far. We had news that another planning application called Clauchrie has been Refused because of the impact on the Galloway Forest mountains especially Merrick and the Dark Skies Park. This application went to an inquiry in 2021 which I was part of. However two other wind power stations have been consented for the other side of the Galloway Forest Park with a total of 65 turbines. I run in the Galloway Forest park now and it is soon to be surrounded by turbines and the size of them is getting bigger. Now in planning between 200m and 250m. I agree we need to become renewable but Scotland has reached it's renewable targets.The energy companies want to erect turbines in order to obtain the "constraint payments" where they get paid to turn the turbines off when there is no demand for the electricity since it cannot be stored. The energy companies are ruining the Scottish landscape forever under the guise of green energy.

The map on the left is the total number of wind power stations in South Ayrshire and below will be the view from Merrick. As you can see there are turbines from corner to corner of the panorama. Not only is it the view but the turbines are now being built near people's homes who do not benefit from them at all. There are enough turbines in Scotland now and we should be preserving the land for the future generations to come.

What you can do to help

Object by email to econsents_admin@gov.scot Quoting Ref ECU00002153 and putting your name and address at the bottom.

You can just put a one liner eg "There are enough wind turbines in Scotland" or refer to a) and b) examples below. If you are feeling motivated you can help further by including the email address listed in c) and cc me in as well nicky@blackcows.co.uk

a)  Draft short form objection.docx  b) Knockodhar Wind Farm bullet points.docx c) List of Council Members & Polititians etc.docx

Many thanks for helping out,

Nicky.

 My objection is here Objection to Knockodhar Wind Power Station Ref ECU00002153 Nicky Spinks.pdf

1st August - I have found out that the deadline has been extended and so anyone still wishing to put in an objection please do so as your vote will still count. I will update on here when the closing date has been set.

 28th July - My objection went in last week and is here Objection to Knockodhar Wind Power Station Ref ECU00002153 Nicky Spinks.pdf

4th July - I have spent the last week having sleepless nights and writing my Objection. If we hadn't already been told a lot of untruths I would be a lot happier listening to the Applicants and believing what they say. The biggest worry is that these are 200m turbines with 81m blades and they haven't been tested on humans before apart from Hunterston and that was a disaster. In England and Wales the law is that Turbines over 150m cannot be sited within 3km of a residential property. Scotland did not adopt the law and recommends that turbines are more than 2km away. This development has ignored that recommendation and nine within our property and seven within Lamdocherty (shown north of us on the map).

Please help us have a say in the planning and development by Objecting as below. Thanks Nicky

22nd June - A planning application has now been lodged for yet another wind power station in Scotland. If objections aren’t received the application will be rubber stamped without the residents of South Ayrshire having any say in the development. This is not the same as in England where an objection can halt a development. In Scotland it simply triggers an enquiry.

When we moved to Mark in South Ayrshire, I didn't realise how prolific the wind power stations really were in this area. Energy companies have been saying they will provide cheap electric and help combat climate change but electric costs have not gone down and Scotland is on will meet the 2030 Renewable Energy targets  already when all the consented and repowered turbines are built. The Energy companies are now making huge profits on the back of being paid for turning the turbines off, when there is no demand for the wind turbine electric and no means to store it.

Furthermore it is not financially beneficial to the energy companies to spend money on the condition of the land they are using. As a former farmer and current fell runner it dismayed me to see the devastation at Mark Hill wind power station. This is at least ten years after it was built.

Scotland, and especially South Ayrshire, has enough wind power stations. There are 21 wind power stations within 20km of this location with a total of 430 turbines. When we came to view Mark Farm we saw Mark Hill Wind power station on the approach to the property. It did not put us off the location and we went ahead with our house purchase. Mark Hill wind turbines are 110m high and we have nine within two kilometres of our property. We can hear them and they sometimes keep us awake at night.

Knockodhar wind turbines will be 200m high. There has only ever been two 200m turbines built onshore at Huntersdon, as a trial and both have been demolished. A nearby resident from Huntersdon came to a meeting I attended and said we will not be able to stand living within 2km of one 200m wind turbine. REG Power intend to install NINE 200m turbines within 2km of Mark Farm. I am very concerned about this.

 What you can do to help

Object by email to econsents_admin@gov.scot Quoting Ref ECU00002153 by July 21st 2023. Put your name and address at the bottom. Do it now please.

You can just put a one liner eg "There are enough wind turbines in Scotland" or refer to a) and b) examples below. If you are feeling motivated you can help further by including the email address listed in c) and cc me in as well nicky@blackcows.co.uk

a)  Draft short form objection.docx  b) Knockodhar Wind Farm bullet points.docx c) List of Council Members & Polititians etc.docx

Many thanks for helping out, Nicky.