Scottish Government VisitStraiton Energy Consents Unit 18 Main Street 4th Floor, 5 Atlantic Quay Straiton 150 Broomielaw Glasgow G2 8LU Maybole South Ayrshire KA19 7NF
[email protected] [email protected] http://visitstraiton.com 10th January 2014 by post and email Dear Sirs, RE: the proposed KEIRS HILL WIND FARM, near Patna, East Ayrshire In addition to objections which we will be making separately as concerned individuals, we (the undersigned) would like to object to the proposed Keirs Hill Wind Farm, which we believe would have a damaging effect on a healthy local tourist industry in Straiton, 3.5km away. In brief, we belief that the integrity of the Galloway Forest Park, the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park and the Galloway and South Ayrshire Biosphere as tourist destinations are threatened by a development on such a large scale on the major tourist route from the Central Belt to Dumfries and Galloway, the A713; we believe the development is too close to the much loved and used Monument Hill walk, as well as to the nationally significant Designed Landscapes of Blairquhan and Craigengillan; and we believe the survey carried out shows that the threat posed by Keirs Hill to the many tourist businesses in Straiton and nearby is real, and the dismissal of this threat by the PBA Roger Tym survey is completely contradicted by the evidence that they themselves adduce. In April 2013, we also produced a report on tourism in Straiton, Wind Farm Development & Tourism in Straiton: a case-study of tourist provision for the Galloway Forest Park and the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park.