Landscape Capacity Study for Wind Turbine Development Background Report
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NORTH LANARKSHIRE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN MODIFIED PROPOSED PLAN LANDSCAPE CAPACITY STUDY FOR WIND TURBINE DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUND REPORT NOVEMBER 2018 North Lanarkshire Council Enterprise and Communities CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. LUC - Landscape Capacity Study for Wind Turbine Development in Glasgow & Clyde Valley (2014) 3. URS Review of North Lanarkshire Local Landscape Character (2015) 4. Kilsyth Hills Special Landscape Area (SLA) 5. Clyde Valley Special Landscape Area (SLA) Appendices Appendix 1 - LUC - Landscape Capacity Study for Wind Turbine Development in Glasgow & Clyde Valley (2014) Appendix 2 - URS Review of North Lanarkshire Local Landscape Character (2015) 1. Introduction 1.1 The current North Lanarkshire Local Plan was informed by the, Capacity of the North Lanarkshire Landscape to Accommodate Wind Turbine Development (ASH 2008). This Study did not define capacity in terms of a level of development to be achieved, nor did it comment on cumulative impact. In 2013, there was a further Study undertaken by Bayou Bluenvironment that examined, in detail, the Landscape and Visual Sensitivity and the Capacity for wind energy within Fortissat Ward. This Report was commissioned in response to increasing pressure for wind farm development in this part of North Lanarkshire based on the Landscape Character Types from the Glasgow & Clyde Valley Landscape Character Assessment (1999). 1.2 For the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan Modified Proposed Plan it has been necessary to update the background information in relation to wind turbine potential in North Lanarkshire. This Background Report brings together the following documents: • LUC – Landscape Capacity Study for Wind Turbine Development in Glasgow & Clyde Valley o Part 1 – Overview Report o Part 2 – North Lanarkshire • URS - Review of North Lanarkshire Local Landscape Character • Kilsyth Hills Special Landscape Area (SLA) – Draft Statement of Importance • Clyde Valley Special Landscape Area (SLA) that were required to update the • Strategic view of landscape sensitivity to wind energy development, and available capacity for further development, across the Clydeplan Strategic Development Plan area in an Onshore Wind Energy Spatial Strategy • Capacity of the North Lanarkshire landscape to accommodate different scales and groupings of wind turbine development and cumulative impact and should be taken cognisance of in relation to wind turbine proposals. 2. LUC - Landscape Capacity Study for Wind Turbine Development in Glasgow & Clyde Valley (2014) 2.1 This report comes in two parts; the first part is the strategic overview of capacity for wind energy development across the Clydeplan Strategic Development Plan area and is designed to be complemented by the more detailed; second part that is local analysis of sensitivity and capacity contained in the LUC Report specifically for North Lanarkshire. Part 1 - Overview Report 2.2 The strategic view of landscape sensitivity to wind energy development and available capacity for further development, does not introduce a threshold beyond which development would be unacceptable. It does however set out guidelines in terms of constraints and opportunities, as to how any further development may be accommodated. The Report seeks to strike an informed balance, providing strategic information which will underpin detailed analysis of cumulative impact and landscape capacity at the local level. 2.3 This evidence has informed the preparation of a spatial framework of search areas for significant wind energy development (capacity of 20 MW or more), where there are no significant constraints on development. Although this Report will be used to inform development management decisions for wind turbine proposals, it should not be used on its own to determine the suitability of a specific site. Reliance on this Study is not a substitute for detailed examination of the potential effects of individual wind energy proposals on a case-by- case basis. 2.4 The Study is based on the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Landscape Character Assessment (1999), which defines broad Landscape Character Types (LCTs) and was undertaken at a scale of 1:50,000. These LCTs may not recognise local variation in landscape character, and their boundaries are generally zones of transition rather than firm lines. Reference should be made to more than one LCT assessment when considering locations close to LCT boundaries. Sensitivity and capacity assessments at this scale may overlook local detail and variation; therefore more detailed local landscape character studies may be required. 2.5 The underlying capacity of each landscape character type has been evaluated, based on the assessment of sensitivity and the indicators of landscape. Sensitivity evaluation criteria were developed based on SNH guidance on the siting and design of windfarms, and applied to the SDP area for wind turbine heights from 15m up to 150m. Alongside the sensitivity assessment, the relative value placed on the landscape was also taken into account based on the presence of regional and local designations. This underlying capacity is also affected (to a greater or lesser extent) by the presence of existing wind turbine development, consented and proposed future development, with the remaining capacity defined as the “current residual “capacity, as it only represents a snapshot of a continually changing pattern of development. 2.6 The strategic cumulative assessment that was undertaken across the study area identified potential cumulative effects occurring beyond the LCT scale, and in some cases beyond the local authority scale as it examined regional patterns of development, including consideration of existing and emerging clusters. The assessment seeks to recommend where future development could be fitted into this pattern, either by building on existing clusters or by protecting important open areas. The assessment was informed by examination of cumulative zone of theoretical visibility (CZTV) maps, comparison with the assessed sensitivity of the landscape, and by examination of potential cumulative impacts on views from a number of representative viewpoints and routes across the study area. 2.7 This Study largely confirms the pattern of underlying sensitivity which has been established in previous studies. The examination of cumulative development within the landscape has provided a picture of current residual capacity in some of the lower sensitivity landscapes, but that the capacity threshold is being approached in other LCTs. 2.8 This Study also identified a distinct pattern of development emerging within the Clydeplan Strategic Development Plan area, and that there are few locations where the observed pressures are expanding wind farms beyond this pattern of development. Maintenance of this pattern of development was identified as a means of restricting the spread of cumulative impacts into new areas. The Campsie Fells, Tinto and western Pentlands areas are identified as strategic gaps in the wider pattern of development across the study area. 2.9 This Study notes that some landscapes, particularly areas of the Plateau Farmland and Southern Uplands LCTs, are reaching the point at which cumulative effects are likely to limit the potential for further development. Part – 2 North Lanarkshire 2.10 There are 9 Landscape Character Types (LCT) within North Lanarkshire and Section 5 of the Report sets out the findings for each LCT, in terms of Sensitivity and Capacity. 2.11 The Sensitivity and Capacity Study for North Lanarkshire found that the areas with greatest capacity for future development are the Plateau Moorland and Plateau Farmland areas in the central and eastern parts of North Lanarkshire. These areas were judged to be of relatively lower sensitivity to wind turbine development in comparison to other areas. The Study highlights the need to develop discrete foci or clusters of development within the Plateau Moorland and Plateau Farmland rather than allow a scatter of single turbines and turbine groups across the whole area. 2.12 Higher sensitivity was identified in the Kilsyth Hills in the north, and the Clyde Valley in the south. The lack of existing and proposed development in or around the areas of higher sensitivity is notable, and it is recommended that these areas are maintained as landscapes relatively free of large-scale wind energy development. 2.13 Further development within the Plateau Moorland and Plateau Farmland may intensify cumulative effects at those locations, but this is considered preferable to dispersal of cumulative effects into currently unaffected areas of higher sensitivity, such as the Kilsyth Hills. 2.14 A copy of the LUC - Landscape Capacity Study for Wind Turbine Development in Glasgow & Clyde Valley (2014) is available in Appendix 1. 3. URS Review of North Lanarkshire Local Landscape Character (2015) 3.1 Landscape designations play an important role in Scottish Planning Policy protecting and enhancing areas of particular value. Scottish Planning Policy encourages local, non-statutory designations to protect and create an understanding of the role of locally important landscape have on communities. 3.2 In 2014 as part of preparation of the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan Proposed Plan a review of local landscape designations was undertaken as part of wider action for landscape protection and management. The purpose of the Review was to identify and provide an awareness of the special character and qualities of the designated landscape in North Lanarkshire