Mountaineers claimed there were serious environmental concerns over plans for a controversial wind farm on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park as a public inquiry got under way into the development.
Evidence to the Allt Duine Wind Farm Inquiry, from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), claims the plans for 31 turbines by developers RWE npower half a mile away from the boundary could permanently scar the landscape
It also claims the developer doesn't plan to clear up after construction work on the project is complete, leaving 31 huge concrete bases – each consisting of 500 tonnes of steel and concrete – to decay and 15 miles of redundant six metre-wide tracks through what is currently wild land.
David Gibson, MCofS chief officer, said: "We support green energy generation but this scheme involves dumping 15,500 tonnes of concrete and miles of roads in mountain areas of national importance and beauty.
"Wind farms are supposed to have a lifetime of 25 years; we would therefore expect developers to include proposals for site restitution in their plans as evidence of good stewardship of the environment. This public inquiry should protect our precious natural environment by putting a stop to this project."
But Jenny Gascoigne, Development Manager Scotland for RWE npower renewables, said: "After the lifetime of the wind farm, the top metre of the turbine foundations will be removed and covered with appropriate topsoil and vegetation in order to reinstate the turbine areas."
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