Flow Country Partnership will look at ‘potential impacts’ of proposed Altnabreac turbines

The partnership behind the successful Flow Country World Heritage Site bid has indicated that it will weigh up the “potential impacts” of plans for a wind farm at Altnabreac.

The application to build 17 turbines as high as 200 metres – more than twice as tall as the Big Ben tower in London – was lodged with Highland Council in January, just over five months after the announcement of the Flow County’s Unesco designation.

Altnabreac Wind Farm is being taken forward by Wind2 for EDPR. It is proposed for a site south-east of Altnabreac railway station and on the edge of the World Heritage Site.

A public consultation event has been scheduled for Thursday, February 20, from 4pm to 7pm, at the Ross Institute in Halkirk. Comments on the proposals can be submitted up to March 31.

The World Heritage Site bid was brought forward by the Flow Country Partnership, which described the 4000-square-kilometre area as “a hugely complex and fragile ecosystem with a vast array of plants that act as an important defence against climate change”.

The Flow Country stores approximately 400 million tonnes of carbon, more than all the UK’s forests and woodlands combined.

A spokesperson for the Flow Country Partnership said this week: “For any development proposals that might affect the Outstanding Universal Value [OUV] of the Flow Country World Heritage Site, the potential impacts will be considered by the Flow Country Partnership.

“Should any development proposal be seen to potentially affect the blanket bog hydrology or ecology, this may be deemed potential damage to the OUV. In such a case, the Flow Country Partnership is likely to submit a planning response to the relevant decision-making body.

“It is also likely that statutory consultees such as NatureScot would assess the potential impacts of any development, including on the Flow Country World Heritage Site, where it might raise natural heritage issues of national importance.

“It is for the decision-maker to then rule on the relative merits of the proposal given any predicted damage. Within the National Planning Framework 4, development proposals affecting the OUV of a World Heritage Site would not normally be supported.”

National Planning Framework 4 is the Scottish Government’s “national spatial strategy”, setting out aspects of planning policy.

The Unesco status was announced in July 2024. The Flow Country became the first Scottish site to achieve the designation purely for its natural criteria, joining locations such as the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef in the global listing.

King Charles visited the newly designated World Heritage Site at the end of that month.

World Heritage Site status is expected to bring environmental, social, cultural and economic benefits for the north of Scotland.

Altnabreac station is about seven miles from the Forsinard lookout tower which has become a widely recognised symbol of the Flow Country.

If it goes ahead, the 130-megawatt wind farm will consist of up to 17 turbines, each with a blade-tip height of up to 200m, and a battery storage system.

The Altnabreac Wind Farm website says the application is expected to be submitted to Scottish ministers through the Energy Consents Unit this autumn. Onshore developments above 50 megawatts are determined by the Scottish Government under Section 36 of the Electricity Act.

The application can be seen on the Highland Council planning portal.

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