This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Admin error in wind farm consent
28/02/2003
Due to an administrative error, a petition calling for a public inquiry into windfarm developments in Moray was not referred to in official advice given to Deputy Enterprise Minister Lewis Macdonald for his consideration.
The advice related to planning consent for a windfarm at Cairn Uish in Morayshire. It set out the facts and the arguments for and against granting the application which will be the biggest wind farm in Scotland to date.
While the advice made no direct reference to the petition, Mr Macdonald saw the petition, which was addressed to the Scottish Parliament, when it was copied to him in October 2002.
He was therefore aware of it when he subsequently considered the Cairn Uish application and decided not to call a public inquiry into the proposal.
Official advice to Mr Macdonald included the formal objections to the proposal - including the objection from the petition organiser.
Although the petition did not constitute a formal statutory objection it would normally have been mentioned in the advice and in the subsequent reasons given for granting the consent.
This omission has no bearing on the decision to grant consent for the Cairn Uish windfarm development. Mr Macdonald was made aware of the strength of local opinion on the proposed development and was able to take account of it in reaching his decision.
The Executive has written to the organiser of the petition, apologising for the administrative error and explaining that procedures are in place to prevent similar errors occurring in the future.
The decision to grant consent for the Cairn Uish windfarm development was announced on January 21 after a lengthy consultation process. The development involves constructing and operating a 28 turbine windfarm.
The petition, addressed to the Scottish Parliament, contains 988 signatures and called for the Parliament to initiate a public inquiry before the windfarm projects in Moray go ahead.
An amended version of the petition is being considered by the Parliament's Public Petitions Committee.