Camilty Wind Farm - Partnerships for Renewables

Camilty Wind Farm
Regional Park, is medium. The sensitivity would be medium and the magnitude of change
also medium, resulting in a Moderate and non-significant effect.
9.5.48 The night-time effect of aviation warning lights on proposed turbines in a relatively dark rural
landscape would be Slight adverse within the character type.
Landscape Character: Indirect Effects
9.5.49 The Pentland Hills comprising the ‘Uplands/Old Red Sandstone Hills/Dissected Moorland
Plateau’ lie immediately south east of the site and form the important landscape context to
the ‘North West Pentland Fringe’ Character Area. The range of hills form an upland ridge at
the heart of the Pentland Hills Regional Park. The landcover of smooth open moorland
contrasts with the forestry and enclosed farmland of the ‘North West Pentland Fringe’ to the
north west where the scheme would be located. Wind farms do not form part of these
character areas, although the existing near schemes at Muirhall and Pates Hill and the more
distant wind farm at Blacklaw provide an established context in the neighbouring landscape.
The proposed wind farm would form a prominent new feature in the context of this landscape
character area, which would have an influence over the landscape character. It would form
the closest wind farm in a loose grouping of three other wind farms and an intensification of
existing conditions. The Pentland Hills form a distinctive landscape feature and backdrop to
views from the Lowland Plains and Plateaux landscape to the north west. The proposals
would form an additional wind farm visible against this backdrop, that would slightly diminish
the prominence of the range of hills in the landscape from some locations within the wider
landscape context. The condition of these landscapes is good and their value is medium due
to their location partially within the Regional Park, AGLV or candidate SLA. The sensitivity of
the landscapes would be high and the magnitude of the indirect effects small, resulting in a
Moderate effect, which is not significant.
9.5.50 Night time effects of warning lights on turbines in the context of existing turbine lighting, traffic
on roads and settlements within the neighbouring character area would be Slight and not
significant.
9.5.51 An assessment of effects on landscape character has been undertaken for identified
character areas, together with landscape designations. Character areas in the vicinity of the
site include the ‘Uplands/Old Red Sandstone Hills/Dissected Moorland Plateau’, which also
coincide with the Pentland Hills AGLV and partially with the Regional Park. These receptors
have all been assessed as potentially experiencing Moderate effects, whilst they are
essentially the same piece of landscape, with three layers of designations/character
assessment attached. A landscape resource can only be affected once and not three times.
To avoid double or triple counting of effects, the accumulation of a series of Moderate effects
in these circumstances should not be considered as a significant effect on the Pentland Hills.
9.5.52 The ‘West Lothian Plateau’, ‘Slamannan Plateau’, ‘Plateau Moorland Forestry/Wind
farm/Open Cast Mining’ and ‘Plateau Farmland’ and ‘Lowland Plains Lower Almond
Farmlands’ character areas lie adjacent to the northern edge of the ‘North West Pentland
Fringe’ or nearby to the north west. These settled and farmed landscapes form a series of
broad character areas, which link Glasgow and Edinburgh. While the wind farm would be
theoretically visible from relatively large areas of these landscapes, the presence of tree belts
and woodland would in fact considerably limit views. The proposed wind farm would often be
visible in combination with existing wind farms in the same character area. The sensitivity of
March 2013 9-60 ES Chapter 9
Landscape and Visual
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