Community Ballot Results

Over 61% vote AGAINST the Muirhall Windfarm Proposal !!!

You can read the official poll results from Councillor Ian Gray below but first a statement from Mr. Don Cole (Chairperson for FoSM):

"The response to the Tarbrax Community Council poll on the Muirhall wind farm proposal is very encouraging.

First the size of the response was very much greater than is usually achieved in such exercises. This means that the issue of whether or not a wind factory should be constructed here is indeed a significant issue for all caring members of the community - a view which Friends of Stallashaw Moss has consistently expressed since its formation and since the response to our own voting exercise some months ago.

Secondly, the result itself is a vindication of our work in stimulating discussion and opposition in the communities here. Nearly 2:1 of people who care support the FoSM view that this would be an undesirable development for this area.

Thanks are due to all members of the community who valued and participated in this democratic process. Thanks are also due to our local Councillor, Ian Gray for his hard work and the time he contributed to acting as returning officer and ensuring that the poll was conducted in a fair and transparent way.

Members of the community will be disappointed that the Tarbrax Community Council has chosen to ignore this poll and voted in favour of the Muirhall proposal.

FoSM for its part will continue to oppose this proposal in the knowledge that our viewpoint is shared by the majority of interested members of the community."

Thats a significant turnout of nearly 40% of the community! Of the 40% who actually voted less than 34% had voted in favour - clearly a community which opposes the proposal for the construction of a wind factory on Stallashaw Moss!

You MUST continue to lobby the local Community Council, the planning authorities at South Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Executive. If you dont then the SLC Planning Committee may well decide against the communities views and grant planning permission anyway.

A wind turbine blade on the Lammermuir Hills in Berwickshire snapped last week. Fortunately nobody was hurt in the incident which occurred at the Crystal Rig windfarm near Duns in the Scottish Borders.

World-famous botanist, conservationist and TV presenter, Professor David Bellamy OBE is looking for YOU to join him on a walk through part of the Southern Uplands.

Cameron McNeish (President of the Ramblers Association) and John Campbell QC will also be joining the walkers.

This event is in support of 'ACE' (Abington, Crawford and Elvanfoot Rural Environmental Watch), a group fighting proposals for a 174 turbine WindFarm near Abington.

The walk is supported by 'The Friends of Stallashaw Moss' as part of our fight against the proliferation of WindFarms across parts of rural Scotland. Please try to join us all for an enjoyable day out!

The route is in two parts - the first part begins around 1.30pm from the car-park in Abington and is quite easy going for those less able (click here for a multimap view of the start). The second part will carry on to the old village of Elvanfoot. Some transportation back to Abington will be available - please let us know if this is something you may be interested in.

Update: View photographs from a highly successful day by clicking here.

It may interest those living in the area around Tarbrax and Auchengray to learn that South Lanarkshire Council recently approved an application to erect a meteorological mast in relation to another proposed WindFarm at Cala Hill, to be located on the ridge of high ground to the west of the A70 Lang Wang between Auchengray Road junction and Redford Bridge.

This is in addition to the already approved large WindFarm at Black Law near Forth on which construction will be commencing soon. Click here to read John Bowker's article in "The Scotsman" on the Black Law WindFarm.

Erection of Meteorological Mast - Application Granted.

 The South Lanarkshire Council, Planning & Building Control Services have granted permission for Mr. Chris Walker of Muirhall WindFarm Ltd., to erect a meteorogical (anemometer) mast on Stallashaw Moss in order to measure wind speeds.

The application (CL/04/0527) was considered by South Lanarkshire Councils local area committee and, having taken into account comments from local residents and other representations made, have decided to grant planning permission for the mast under the Town & Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

Conditions attached to the planning consent are:

1. That the permission hereby granted is for a temporary period only and shall expire on 28th October 2007.
2. That the meteorological mast and all associated structures hereby permitted shall be removed, the uses discontinued and the land restored to its former condition to the satisfaction of the Council as Planning Authority, on or before 28th November 2007.
3. That orange plastic spheres shall be attached to the outer guy wires in accordance with a scheme to be approved in writing by the Council as Planning Authority in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage.

The reason given for the last condition (no.3) is "to reduce the risk of bird strike".

Planning Application Received
South Lanarkshire Council planning department have received a planning application this week for the erection for an anemometer mast on Stallashaw Moss.

The planning officials however have had to reject the initial application, we believe, due to "incorrectly designated land boundaries" on the application. It is expected that a resubmission will be made immediately.

Community Meeting on Wind Farm Proposal
At the meeting held in Auchengray Primary school Mr. Chris Walker of Muirhall Ltd. and consultant Steve Macken of Lomond Energy Ltd. outlined their proposal for a wind powered generating station on Stallashaw Moss.