Turbines approved despite council opposition
Getty Images- A 44-turbine wind farm in southern Scotland has been given the green light
- Dumfries and Galloway Council had opposed the scheme near Sanquhar
- Scottish ministers have concluded its economic and renewable energy benefits outweigh any adverse impact
A major wind farm development straddling two council boundaries has been given approval despite one local authority opposing the plan.
The Sanquhar II project will see 44 turbines built across Dumfries and Galloway and East Ayrshire.
The Scottish government has ruled the scheme can proceed following a public inquiry.
Dumfries and Galloway Council - where the majority of the turbines will be located - had objected to the development.
The project was scaled back after initially being tabled more than four years ago.
Community Windpower said the scheme would "significantly help" the Scottish government meet its net zero carbon targets.
Billy McCrorieHowever, the local authority in Dumfries and Galloway argued it would create an "unacceptable level of significant and detrimental landscape and visual impacts".
It also raised concerns about its impact on walking and cycling routes in the area.
That view was supported by the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society, ScotWays, which argued it would have a detrimental effect on views from the Southern Upland Way.
The project provoked nearly 1,000 letters of representation - the majority in favour of the plans.
Scottish ministers have now concluded that any negative impacts would be outweighed by its economic and renewable energy benefits.