Kirkton energy park rejected over Flow Country impact concerns

Plans for an energy park have been rejected by the Scottish government due to concerns over their impact on a Unesco world heritage site.

Developers wanted to build 11 turbines and a battery storage facility on land next to and inside the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland.

The area was recognised as “the most outstanding example of a blanket bog ecosystem in the world” in July 2024.

The Scottish government concluded that although the proposed Kirkton energy park would help meet green energy targets that did not outweigh its adverse impact on the heritage site.

The proposed development lay partly within, and adjacent to, the Flow Country World Heritage Site (FCWHS).

It would have been located on the western side of Strath Halladale on land south of Melvich in Sutherland.

The application was submitted a couple of months prior to the area being formally nominated as a candidate for the status.

That was ultimately secured as it was considered “the most outstanding example of an actively-accumulating blanket bog landscape”.

A public inquiry was held over the energy park proposals which ultimately led to a recommendation to turn down the plans.

Scottish ministers agreed that “significant detrimental effects” had not been adequately addressed and the application should be refused.