Camilty Wind Farm - Partnerships for Renewables

Camilty Wind Farm
the justification for this section of route at the southern West Lothian boundary as a sensitive
tourist route relates only to views across Cobbinshaw Reservoir towards the Bathgate Hills
and that cumulative visual impacts would only occur as a result of the addition of the
proposed wind farm to the far right of this view, it is considered unlikely to deter visitors from
using this route. Again, the evidence of various surveys as identified into the impact of wind
farms on tourists supports this conclusion. The magnitude of this effect is therefore
considered to be small.
15.7.7 Turning to cumulative effects on the section of the A70 to the north of the application site, the
landscape and visual assessment concludes that the addition of the proposed wind farm to
the proposed Harburnhead, Pearie Law and in particular the Fauch Hill Wind Farms would
only result in significant adverse cumulative visual effects when travelling south within
approximately 2 km of the site. This section of road excludes the section between Harperrig
Reservoir and the eastern West Lothian boundary defined as a sensitive tourist route which
lies beyond 2 km of the site. Given that the proposed wind farm would only slightly increase
the horizontal extent of cumulative schemes within the view from the A70 between Harperrig
Reservoir and the eastern West Lothian boundary, and that this would be confined to the far
right of the view away from the sensitive views towards the Pentland Hills that form the
justification for this section of route as a sensitive tourism route, it is considered unlikely to
deter visitors from using this route. The magnitude of this effect is therefore considered to be
small.
15.7.8 Overall, the addition of the proposed wind farm is anticipated to have no worse than a slight
negative effect on the demand for using any of West Lothian’s principal sensitive tourist
routes.
15.8 References
• FCS (2006) The Scottish Forestry Strategy. Forestry Commision Scotland, Edinburgh
• FCS(2007) Public Opinion of Forestry. Forestry Commision for Scotland , Edinburgh
• FCS (2008a) Discussion Paper on Woodland Expansion in Scotland. Forestry
Commision Scotland, Edinburgh
• FCS(2008b) Forests for People: access, recreation and tourism on the national forest
estate. Forestry Commision Scotland, Edinburgh
• FCS (2009) Scottish Lowlands Forest District Strategic Plan 2009 – 2013. Forestry
Commision Scotland, Edinburgh
• NRS (2011), Mid-2011 Population Estimates Scotland: Population estimates by sex,
age and administrative area. 27 April 2011. National Records of Scotland
• ONS (2011a) Annual Population Survey 2011. Office for National Statistics
• ONS (2011b) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2011. Office for National
Statistics
• ONS (2012) Annual Population Survey 2012. Office for National Statistics
• Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian (2006). Edinburgh and the Lothians Tourism
Accomodation Audit. Available at: http://www.edinburghinspiringcapital.com/pdf/edinburgh-accom-audit-%20full-report-oct-2006[1].pdf
March 2013 15-34 ES Chapter 15
Socio-Economics, Tourism, Land-Use and Recreation
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