The construction of a massive wind farm with up to 45 turbines in a Prehistoric Borders landscape littered with Iron Age and Bronze Age scheduled monuments would compromise a significant number of historic sites, it has been claimed.
Faw Side wind farm, covering 23 square kilometres of unspoiled countryside in Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway council areas would be one of the largest projects of its kind in the United Kingdom.
Applicants CWL Energy were granted a time extension last year. But now their application is being advertised again with representations to be submitted to the respective planning authorities or to Scottish government ministers by July 6th.
Turbines ranging in height from 179 metres to 200 metres will pepper the skyline in river valleys close to the town of Langholm and in parts of rural Roxburghshire.
But an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) commissioned by CWL makes light of the intrusion their scheme would have on the rich cultural heritage of the area. The EIA claims time and time again that individual scheduled monuments of high importance will not be affected detrimentally.
It is not a view shared by council archaeology officers Dr Chris Bowles (Scottish Borders Council) and Andrew Nicholson (Dumfries & Galloway Council) who have both conducted detailed assessments of their own.
In his newly published report, Mr Nicholson says: "The walkover survey (by CWL's consultants) was conducted by a single qualified archaeologist over the course of two days. Even allowing for the area already surveyed and the low likelihood of archaeological remains on the steeper hill slopes I do not feel that a single individual could adequately cover the 23 square kilometres of the development site over the course of two days."
And similar sentiments are expressed by Dr Bowles in his assessment: "I do not believe a thorough assessment has been compiled for the range of potential direct impacts. The EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) contains several statements that are either not correct or underestimate significance and impact. In part this is due to information that has emerged since the EIA was completed.
"The walkover of the site described in the EIA, by a single archaeologist over two days, is insufficient for a site this size even if covering just infrastructure and known sites."
In particular, Dr Bowles claims there are potentially major setting impacts to a newly identified hilltop cairn on Pikethaw Hill which lies within the proposed development area.
He states: "As it currently appears, the sizeable mound (approximately 5 metres high and 40-50 metres in circumference) is consistent with a hilltop cairn of Neolithic or early Bronze Age date.
"The cairn is partly within both the Scottish Borders and the wind farm boundary. It should have been easily identified within the Inner Study Area by the applicant’s archaeological advisors. The potential significance of the cairn cannot be understated. If confirmed as a burial cairn, it is a very well-preserved example of a monument that is not particularly common in the area. Hilltop cairns, are common, but not at this size."
Dr Bowles, who recommends an objection to the proposals pending further investigations, adds: "The EIA states that there will be no monuments within one kilometre of a turbine in the Scottish Borders. This is clearly incorrect. A number of assets such as the drove roads are within metres of turbines, and will certainly be crossed by infrastructure as the EIA states."
He recommends that the area should be surveyed using,LIDAR, a technology which uses laser light to create a three dimensional representation of the earth's surface. It can be used to find archaeological features which are not immediately visible from the ground or through traditional satellite images.
Meanwhile Mr Nicholson outlines his concerns for a series of ancient Esk Valley forts which would be impacted by the wind farm. In particular the group of forts – Camp Hill, Castle O’er and Bessie’s Knowe - all have wide-ranging, extensive views across the surrounding landscape.
His report says: "The sites are all of national importance and have high aesthetic and experiential properties deriving from their prominent strategic topographic location and wide-ranging landscape views as well as the contribution the forts make to the surviving wider prehistoric landscape.
"They are all promoted on the Eskdale Prehistoric Trail, and each has dedicated parking and an information board. The first impressions of a visitor, the ‘Sense of Place’ noted in Historic Environment Scotland’s guidance on setting, will be informed by the presence of the turbines on the skyline in a broad arc to the east.
"The proposed turbines of Faw Side would continue this sweep around through a significant extent of the eastern horizon, resulting in a near 180 degree arc of turbines for Castle O’er and Camp Hill. This would result in an obvious, visible change to the outlook from the sites, which would be significant in terms of their sense of place".
Mr Nicholson recommends refusal of the submitted proposal.
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