The wind farm project sparked a complex environmental debate. Consideration was paid to environmental and conservation issues including the risk of landslides on peatland and potential effects on the Cuillins Special Protection Area (SPA), an area classified under the Birds Directive for the conservation of the golden eagle.
Highland Council granted planning permission for three closely connected developments comprising the wind farm development and two separate applications for borrow pits to extract aggregate for construction purposes.
In challenging the grant of planning permission the Skye Windfarm Action Group submitted:
In dismissing the petition the judge held that although the developers environmental statement fell short of being ideal, the Council had not acted illegally in accepting it. In addition the developer had not breached any requirement to consider alternatives and that there was no evidence to support the assertion that flooding was likely.
In addition planning conditions were considered not to be unreasonable or illegal.
Although the judge stated that as the borrow pits were an integral part of the wind farm development they should not normally be considered in isolation, he was not satisfied that it was illegal to separate them.
Furthermore it was held that no interested party had been excluded from commenting on the impact of the borrow pits.
Finally the Court found no basis for the assertion that the Council had failed to take account of HRES or that the advice which SNH gave, in relation to any impact on the Cuillins SPA, which the council proceeded on, was incorrect.
In the initial application the developers sought planning permission for 28 wind turbines and also for borrow pits.
As a result of revision to the wind farm proposal, the application which Highland Council eventually considered in March 2007 was for a wind farm comprising 18 turbines.
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