Monadhliath wind farm gets go-ahead after all

An appeal against the findings of a judicial review means a controversial major wind farm in the Monadhliath mountains is likely to go ahead once more.

The wind farm had originally been given planning consent by the Scottish Government in 2014, but wild land conservation charity the John Muir Trust had challenged the decision. In a judicial review last December judges had found that the government’s decision had been “defective”, overturning the plans.

However SSE and the Scottish Government appealed against the ruling, and judges have now overturned the judicial review.

The original decision to grant consent by Scottish Ministers went against the advice of the Scottish Government’s own advisors, Scottish Natural Heritage, who advised that a wind farm should not be built at Stronelairg because of its wild land qualities.

The MCofS also objected to the proposal for a wind farm there, and Director Dave Gordon said he was “disappointed and saddened” by the latest news

The John Muir Trust said it too was disappointed by the decision and is exploring its options. Chief Executive Stuart Brooks said: “We took out this legal action reluctantly because of the sheer scale of the development proposed by SSE in an area of wild land, the potential ecological damage to a vast area of peatland and the breadth of opposition – which included Scottish Natural Heritage, the Cairngorms National Park Authority the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and three out of four local councillors.”

He added: “We are grateful for all the support we have received from our members and the public, including over a thousand financial donations.”