Marine Scotland. Draft Sectoral Plan for Offshore Wind (Dec 2019) Supplementary Advice to SNH Consultation Response (25 March 2020). SNH Assessment of Potential Seascape, Landscape and Visual Impacts and Provision of Design Guidance This document sets out SNH’s Landscape and Visual Impact appraisal of each of the Draft Plan Option (DPO) areas presented in the above consultation and the opportunities for mitigating these, through windfarm siting and design. Due to its size, we are submitting it separately from our main response to the draft Plan. We had hoped to be able to submit this earlier within the consultation period and apologise that this was delayed slightly. Our advice is in three parts: Part 1. Context and Approach taken to Assessment Part 2. DPO Assessment and Design Guidance Part 3. DPO Assessment and Design Guidance: Supporting Maps Should you wish to discuss any of the matters raised in our response we would be pleased to do so. Please contact George Lees at
[email protected] / 01738 44417. PART 1. CONTEXT AND APPROACH TAKEN TO ASSESSMENT Background 1. In late spring 2018 SNH were invited to participate as part of a Project Steering group to input to the next Sectoral Plan for Offshore Wind Energy by Marine Scotland. SNH landscape advisors with Marine Energy team colleagues recognised this as a real opportunity to manage on-going, planned change from offshore wind at the strategic and regional level, to safeguard nationally important protected landscapes and distinctive coastal landscape character. It also reflected our ethos of encouraging well designed sustainable development of the right scale in the right place and as very much part of early engagement.