Plans to almost double the number of wind turbines on a Perthshire hillside have been branded “an extension by the back door”.
An application has been made to build a windfarm, named Green Burn, on a site near Bridge of Cally. However it would lie just 1,200 metres from turbines at Drumderg.
The existing windfarm has 16 turbines and documents submitted to Perth and Kinross Council show the new site would have a further 11.
Among those to have raised concerns are the John Muir Trust and anti-windfarm campaigners
Graham Lang, chairman of national campaign group Scotland Against Spin, said: “This is an extension to Drumderg by the backdoor as visually it will join up with the existing windfarm.
“The developer will doubtless argue that since the landscape is already desecrated by the Drumderg turbines, a few more won’t make any difference.
“Now that subsidies have been all but stopped, the developer is gambling on an application of sufficient scale where the infrastructure is already in place making it through the planning process.”
The John Muir Trust urged that Perth and Kinross Council turn down the application as it would contribute to the “ringing” of Scotland’s first national park, and said Green Burn and Drumderg were “so close to each other as to almost form one unit”.
In a letter of objection they said: “We are seriously concerned about the cumulative impact the proposed development will have.
“We are especially concerned about the impact on the Cairngorm National Park.
“The landscape in this general area is already subjected to a high level of onshore wind farm development and proposed development.”
Local resident Roy Bayne said the project would devastate the landscape.
“I am totally convinced this will be a disaster for the area,” he wrote.
“You can cover and destroy the countryside with (turbines) but this will not provide the energy required for our modern way of life.”
However, Simon Ferguson said the project would help secure his future.
“As one of the landowners involved in the Green Burn windfarm, the development of the windfarm will play a significant role in securing the sustainable future of my farm for the next 25 years,” he said.