Scapa wind turbine approved

An application for a 20kW wind turbine at Upper Scapa Farm, St Ola, has been approved by Orkney Islands Council’s planning committee this afternoon.

The meeting was preceded by a site visit earlier today. At a previous meeting committee members had decided to further assess the visual impact of the turbine on the area.

Two letters of objection had been received from nearby residents, with one objector also speaking today’s meeting. Amongst their objections, they said that there are already too many turbines in the area and that shadow flicker from the blades would cause distraction.

However the planning committee members followed the recommendation in the council planning agent’s report, which was to approve, as it met the planning criteria

The report stated that the objections were not of sufficient weight to override the council’s policy for renewable energy developments.