United bid to save Highlands mountains from developer

Published on 08/09/2012 01:11

SCOTLAND’S mountaineers have joined forces with a leading UK conservation charity to oppose a huge wind farm that would “industrialise” a large area of unspoilt Highlands landscape.

Energy giant SSE wants to build 83 turbines in the Monadhliath range, covering 35 square kilometres of uplands near Fort Augustus, which would be clearly visible from the Cairngorms National Park. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland and the John Muir Trust are objecting to the Stronelairg Wind Farm proposals, which would involve bulldozing nearly 40 miles of five-metre wide service tracks to create the largest wind farm yet in the north of Scotland.

David Gibson, chief officer of the mountaineering council, said: “Proposals of this kind cannot pretend to be environmentally friendly – they are about big corporations making even bigger profits by industrialising the wild lands vital to our natural heritage.”

The council has published a manifesto for the protection of mountains which calls on the Scottish Government to implement a national policy that harmonises the need for clean energy with protection of Scotland’s countryside.