Public events for Hoy wind turbines proposal

Orkney Islands Council is to present revised plans for a seven-turbine wind farm in Hoy to the public later this month to allow folk to provide input in advance of a planning application being submitted later this year.

Initial plans for the development were presented at an event last year with various studies carried out in the intervening period - which have led to some proposed changes to the layout of the site.

These revised plans, which also include new and upgraded access tracks, a met mast, a substation compound and a temporary construction compound - will now be on show at a public event in the North Walls Centre in Hoy on Thursday 26 March – and available on the Council website shortly after.

Details of the Hoy event are as follows:

• Thursday 26 March 2020 in the Community Room and Hall at the North Walls Centre, Lyness, KW16 3NX from 14:00 to 17:00 and again from 19:00 to 21:00.

Members of the Council’s project team will be on hand to talk people through the plans and discuss any questions or comments they may have. Feedback sheets will be available to fill in at the event or to take away and fill in before submitting to the project team.

With the Council intending to submit a planning application for the project within the coming months, the event will give local people the opportunity to comment on the plans in what’s known as ‘Pre-Application Consultation’ - a statutory requirement for major developments like these.

The objective of the PAC is for communities to be better informed about major and national development proposals and to have an opportunity to contribute their views before a formal planning application is submitted to the planning authority.

The PAC does not take away the need for, and right of, individuals and communities to express formal views to the planning authority during the planning application process itself. It is important, therefore, for communities and others to follow their interest in a proposal through to the planning application stage, when views can be made to the planning authority before it before determines the application.

It should be noted that comments made to OIC through this PAC process are not representations to the planning authority. If a planning application is subsequently submitted, normal neighbour notification and publicity will be undertaken, and individuals and communities will have an opportunity to make representations on that application to the planning authority at that time.
The information shown at the events and feedback forms will be available on the Orkney's Community Wind Farm Project web pages  from Friday 27 March 2020.

Further information about the development may also be obtained by contacting Kirsty Groundwater, Project Officer, Orkney Islands Council.

The deadline for submitting comments to the Project Team will be Tuesday 14 April 2020 at 12:00 to;

• Postal address: Kirsty Groundwater, Project Officer, Orkney Islands Council, Town House, 13 Victoria Street, Stromness, KW16 3AA
• Email: kirsty.groundwater@orkney.gov.uk 
• Phone: 01856852272

The Hoy project is one of three under development as part of ‘Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project’ - alongside Quanterness and Faray.

The current proposal at the site in Hoy is to erect seven turbines, all at a blade tip height of up to 149.9m. The proposed Quanterness site has the potential capacity for six turbines and the site on Faray has enough space for up to seven turbines.

Pre-application consultation for the proposed project at Quanterness took place in November last year, with consultation events for the proposed project in Faray likely to take place in Eday and Westray later this year.

A planning application for Quanterness was lodged with the planning authority in January. The Council has since written to the Scottish Government to ask that they call in the application, on grounds of national significance.