‘More scrutiny’ needed of wind farm proposals

MORE scrutiny is needed of wind farm development plans in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) such as the Sperrins, a local council has heard.

At a full meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council, independent councillor Raymond Barr proposed a council-led assessment of the impact of windfarms on the council area, which will include impacts on residents’ health and wellbeing as well as ‘biodiversity, landscape, cultural heritage and tourism’.

The motion also called on the council to support a full ban on wind farm developments in the Sperrin AONB.

However, Sinn Féin councillor Fergal Leonard amended the motion to request that council reaffirms its presumption against any developments unless it can be demonstrated that they ‘would not adversely impact or erode the intrinsic appeal of the AONB’.

Cllr Barr stressed that he was ‘not anti-wind farm’, but had been contacted by campaigners concerned about their impact.

He said, “We in the north of Ireland are increasingly referred to as the dirty corner of Europe, and we were ranked twelfth in the world for biodiversity loss.

“This motion is about taking proper stock of the cumulative impact of 16 wind farms and 80 single turbines on people’s health, the landscape, tourism, and community cohesion.

“Let’s reflect on how we got here – and the repercussions for our families, friends, neighbours, and the generations who follow – and advocate for a balanced approach that uses all the tools that we have to achieve our climate change goals.”

Cllr Leonard said renewable energy was necessary and the region’s target through the Climate Change Act 2022 was to generate 80 per-cent of their electricity via renewables by 2030, but wind farm development must be ‘properly sited with no negative implications and all material consideration in planning applications robustly scrutinised’.