Climbers fear for landscape due to wind farm developments

Published on 13/09/2012 01:33

GROWING numbers of climbers are calling for Scotland’s mountains to be saved from an “unprecedented onslaught” of wind farm developments which threaten “uncontrolled industrialisation” of the landscape.

The British Mountaineering Council, which has 75,000 members, is the latest group to back a manifesto asking ministers for new policies enabling renewable energy to be developed without damaging the landscape.

BMC chief executive, Dave Turnbull, said: “The BMC is not opposed to wind energy, far from it, but our wildest landscapes need protection. “Scotland’s mountains now face an unprecedented threat from an onslaught of windfarm applications. These are bound to have an impact on enjoyment of the mountains.”

The manifesto, from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, is also backed by the Munro Society, the Cairngorms Campaign and The North East Mountain Trust.