Sperrins wind farm gets go ahead after appeal

A wind farm in the Sperrins area has been given the go-ahead after the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) overturned a decision by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.

The application to build six turbines at Magheramore, near Dungiven, was rejected by the council in 2023.

It was refused on the grounds of its impact on the landscape character of the Sperrins and the settings of historic monuments.

However, the PAC found the proposal met landscape and visual policy requirements, and that it would only have “a minor adverse impact” on the setting of Magheramore Court Tomb and Magheramore Portal Tomb.

The ruling also concluded that the stated environmental and economic benefits of the proposal and Stormont’s climate obligations “weigh strongly in its favour”.

The Save Benbradagh group, which had campaigned against the turbines, raised the prospect that permission for the scheme would set a precedent opening up the entire Sperrins area for wind energy development.

However, the PAC said: “No two sites are the same and every application must be considered on its own merits in the evidential and policy context then prevailing.”

It added that it did not accept that approval of this development would open up other areas to successive developments.

The ruling has been welcomed by the wind farm developer, RES.

Jennifer McCorry, Project Manager for RES, said: “Magheramore has been carefully designed to fit sensitively into the existing landscape and we warmly welcome the decision, which unlocks much-needed investment in the local economy.”