Wind Turbines & the Landscape
How wind turbines look is a subjective issue. Some people like the look of wind turbines and others don’t. A landscape and visual assessment is included within the Environmental Impact Assessment accompanying a planning application. The aim of this assessment is to investigate how the wind energy proposal will appear in the landscape from key viewpoints.
A developer should work closely with the relevant statutory consultees to review the visual impact of their proposals. For visual impact assessment the relevant statutory consultees are:
Natural England – statutory consultee in England
Scottish Natural Heritage – statutory consultee in Scotland
Countryside Council for Wales – statutory consultee in Wales
The starting point is to agree what the key viewpoints are. Key viewpoints can be selected for many reasons and they can include picnic spots, tourist attractions, key roads, populated areas, historic buildings and viewpoints where key local landmarks and the proposed development can be viewed together.
Once the viewpoints are agreed the proposal will be assessed from the viewpoints and alterations recommended if possible or necessary.
The visual impact will be assessed along with the other findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment once the planning application is submitted and all consultees will get the chance to comment prior to a planning decision being made.
Scottish Natural Heritage has published ‘Visual Assessment of Wind Farms: Best Practice’ to offer advice and guidance on assessing the visual impact of wind farm developments.