East Lothian councillors seek more detail on repowering of Crystal Rig windfarm

Committee members debated an application from Fred Olsen Renewables Ltd for the construction and operation of a repower of Crystal Rig One wind farm, consisting of up to 10 wind turbines at the existing wind farm 10km south of Dunbar in the Lammermuir Hills.

The application will be determined by the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit. East Lothian Council is a consultee on the application. The consultation was called off the Scheme of Delegation by Councillor Jardine due to the community interest.

The proposed development refers to the existing Crystal Rig One site, which was established in 2003 as one of Scotland’s first onshore commercial-scale wind farms. Its operational life of 25 years ends in 2027. The site currently comprises 25 turbines, which will be decommissioned to enable the construction of the proposed development, which will have an operational period of 35 years.

While the windfarm itself is mainly in the Scottish Borders, access roads for the transportation and construction work lie in East Lothian. The council’s Biodiversity Officer highlighted several omissions from the developer’s Environmental Impact Assessment Report including up to date ecological surveys for the entire route and an up-to-date tree survey.

It was also a concern that the Outline Construction Environmental Management Plan provided did not specifically mention the access route within the East Lothian Council boundary.

A total of five representations were received in relation to the proposed development, three of which objected to the proposal, with the main grounds for objection including the impact of continuous construction traffic in the area since 2020 due to multiple windfarm projects, leading to road deterioration and claims of dangerous driving, including speeding.

The planning officer’s report noted that, while the principle of repowering the site is accepted and supported by the council, there was an omission of sufficient information to allow an assessment in respect of the proposed construction access route and the potential for significant impacts arising during the construction and decommissioning phases, particularly along the public road network.

Following a debate, members voted unanimously to submit an objection to the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) at this stage. They also agreed that the council’s Chief Planning Officer be authorised to undertake discussions with the ECU to seek to resolve these objections and that conditions be agreed and attached to the consent if required.

The relevant application numbers are: Crystal Rig, 25/00005/SGC