Section 5 SOCIO-ECONOMICS, POPULATION & COMMUNITY
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report Section 5 – Socio-Economics, Population & Community Involvement Section 5 Figures SOCIO-ECONOMICS, POPULATION & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Figure 5.1 –Council Areas Contents Figure 5.2 – Ward Areas Figure 5.3 – Community Council Areas 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 5.2 Scope of the Assessment ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 5.4 – SIMD Data Zones 5.3 Legislation, Policy and Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 5.5 – Potential Multi-Use Wind Farm Path Routes 5.4 Assessment Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 5 Charts 5.5 Baseline Conditions ............................................................................................................................................. 5 5.6 Potential Effects ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Chart 5.1 – Change in Scottish GDP 5.7 Mitigation ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 Chart 5.2 – Index of Regional Resilience 5.8 Wind Farms and their Perceived Impacts on Tourism ........................................................................................ 9 Plates 5.9 Economic Benefits of the Development ............................................................................................................ 10 5.10 Community Benefits .......................................................................................................................................... 13 Plate 5.1 – Public Exhibition Display Boards at Boreland Village Hall, Dumfries and Galloway, 23rd July 2019 5.11 Educational Benefits .......................................................................................................................................... 13 Plate 5.2 – Public Exhibition Display Boards at Moffat Town Hall, Dumfries and Galloway, 24th July 2019 5.12 Environmental Benefits ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Plate 5.3 – Public Exhibition Display Boards at Wamphray Village Hall, Dumfries and Galloway, 24th July 2019 5.13 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 5.14 Economic Prospects ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Plate 5.4 – Community Council presentation at Moffat Town Hall, Dumfries and Galloway, 25th February 2020 5.15 Testimonials ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 Plate 5.5 – CWL’s educational trip to Sanquhar Wind Farm with Beattock Primary School, October 2019 5.16 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Plate 5.6 – Steve Milburn, Senior Project Manager at Community Windpower, with students at Langholm Academy, 29th January 2020 Tables Plate 5.7 – Community Windpower Projects Assistant, Rebecca Elliott, presenting the children of Beattock Primary Table 5.1 – Socio-Economics, Population and Community Involvement Scoping Opinion Responses School with their new iPads Table 5.2 – Significance Criteria Plate 5.8 – CWL Educational Ranger, Pete Boustead, taking part in Sanquhar Primary School’s Gardening Day Table 5.3 – Dumfries and Galloway Population Structure Plate 5.9 – Civil contractor – local Scottish company, AMD, Dumfries Table 5.4 – Data Zones Within and Surrounding the Proposed Site Boundary Plate 5.10 – Civil contractor – local Scottish company, Windhoist, Irvine Table 5.5 – Dumfries and Galloway Employment Sectors Plate 5.11a – Scottish contractor, Collett Transport, appointed to transport the turbine sections for Sanquhar Community Wind Farm Table 5.6 – Dumfries and Galloway Employment Plate 5.11b – Scottish contractor, Collett Transport, appointed to transport the turbine sections for Sanquhar Table 5.7 – Scoping and Pre-Planning Investment Community Wind Farm Table 5.8 – Predicted Services required during the construction period Table 5.9 – Summary of Potential Impacts of the proposed wind farm, Mitigation and Residual Impacts Section 5 – Page 1 Section 5 – Socio-Economics, Population & Community Involvement Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report Glossary Term Definition Community assets Tangible community benefits rather than monetary, for example infrastructure Community The process of formally consulting or discussing with the local community consultation Data zone Small geographic areas of equal population, used to assess deprivation across Scotland Deprivation The damaging lack of material benefits considered to be basic necessities in a society Domain The seven characteristics used to measure deprivation in Scotland Public Exhibitions The process of displaying information for the benefit of the public Socio-economic Relating to or concerned with the interaction of social and economic factors Sustainable Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance Wards A local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes Abbreviations Abbreviation Description CDM Construction Design and Management CO2 Carbon Dioxide CWL Community Windpower Limited EIAR Environmental Impact Assessment Report HGV Heavy Goods Vehicle MoU Memorandum of Understanding SIMD Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation TMP Transport Management Plan Section 5 – Page 2 Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm – EIA Report Section 5 – Socio-Economics, Population & Community Involvement Section 5: Socio-Economics, Population & Community Involvement Table 5.1 – Socio-Economics, Population & Community Involvement Scoping Opinion Responses Consultee Scoping Response Respective Paragraph 5.1 Introduction Dumfries and No Response provided on social, economic or Galloway Council community involvement grounds 5.1.1 This section considers the potential social and economic impacts of the proposed Scoop Hill Community Wind VisitScotland Suggests consideration is given to the Scottish The impacts of the proposed Farm and assesses the impacts associated with the development, construction, operation and Government’s 2008 research on the Impact of Wind wind farm on tourism and decommissioning phases. Estimated employment generation, business-related opportunities and impacts Farms on Tourism. recreation can be found in are presented. The section also assesses the likely impacts of the proposed wind farm on the local tourism Ensure consideration is given to the UNESCO Galloway sub-section 5.6. industry, in light of published findings by a range of studies including the Scottish Government, VisitScotland and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere based on the Views from various and RenewableUK. outstanding level of biodiversity in the community. viewpoints around the site Minimise negative effects on tourism by considering can be found in Section 6: 5.1.2 This assessment comes at a time when the COVID 19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented social and the following factors: LVIA. economic challenges. Provisional Scottish Government statistics suggest Scotland’s GDP fell by 19.7% during • The number of tourists travelling past en route April to June 2020 and unemployment levels are continuing to rise with estimates that it could reach 10% elsewhere; later in 2020. • The views from accommodation in the area; 5.1.3 This assessment aims to measure potential social and economic impacts of the proposed Scoop Hill • The relative scale of tourism impact i.e. local Community Wind Farm however, it should be noted that the full impact of this current economic crisis has and national; yet to be fully realised. In this regard this section includes reference to ‘Economic Prospects’ which focuses • The potential positives associated with the on the most up to date assessments of the impact of the COVID 19 on the Scottish economy. development; • The views of the tourist organisations, i.e. local 5.1.4 This section should be read in conjunction with the accompanying ‘Commitment to Communities’ report tourist businesses or VisitScotland. which sets out how the proposed development will support local communities through economic investment, Recommend any potential detrimental impact of the employment, the development of tourist attractions and facilities in the form of a possible ‘Visitor Centre’ proposal on tourism (visually, environmentally and and ‘Wind Farm Walk’ and voluntary contributions to the local community. economically) be identified and considered in full. Also, 5.1.5 Relevant planning policies are identified and briefly summarised, however detailed assessments are provided consideration given to proliferation (cumulative) effect separately in the Planning Statement, which