Lorg wind farm approved near Southern Upland Way

Revised plans for a wind farm located close to a popular coast-to-coast walking route have been approved by the Scottish government.

The 10-turbine Lorg wind farm will be built by developers RWE Renewables on a site between Carsphairn and Sanquhar which will be visible from stretches of the Southern Upland Way.

Permission has been granted for the turbines which will have a maximum height of 650ft (200m) and an operational lifespan of 35 years.

Following concerns over the environmental impact of the wind farm, the plans have been downsized from earlier proposals – which were made up of 15 turbines stretching into East Ayrshire.

The development lies about three miles (5km) from the Galloway Hills and Thornhill Uplands Regional Scenic Areas.

As part of the planning application, Dumfries and Galloway Council noted that although there would be some significant adverse landscape and visual effects, they considered these to be localised and acceptable.

Neither NatureScot nor the Scottish Environment Protection Agency objected to the proposals, however they did make recommendations for conditions to protect wildlife, wetland and peatland habitats.

RSPB Scotland did raise concerns about the effect on black grouse in the area and Tynron Community Council also objected due to landscape and visual impacts and the impact on tourism.

Approval for the latest application comes eight years after developers E.ON were granted permission for the site.

That permission subsequently elapsed but now new plans have been given the green light.