Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fear Ochils turbine plans will ruin Gleneagles scenery

Andrew Jowett, head golf professional at Gleneagles, on the PGA Centenary Course.
Andrew Jowett, head golf professional at Gleneagles, on the PGA Centenary Course.

The stunning Perthshire landscape was showcased to an audience of millions during a triumphant Ryder Cup 2014.

For one week Gleneagles became the epicentre of the sporting world as Europe and the USA clashed on its greens and fairways, with the Ochils as the backdrop.

That landscape could change dramatically if plans for a giant new windfarm progress.

Green Energy company PNE Wind Ltd hopes to raise as many as 25 giant turbines in the Ochils, each an imposing 126.5 metres, with the applicant keen to progress the scheme in conjunction with Forestry Commission Scotland.

Opponents have been quick to react, however, with the Perth-based Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) moving to signal its disquiet.

The independent organisation has to date objected to only around one in 20 applications, but has moved to block proposals it regards as potentially the most damaging to Scotland’s mountain assets.

In a letter to PNE Wind UK, its chief officer David Gibson wrote: “We have not previously commented on windfarm proposals located in the Ochils but we consider North Hill to be a particularly egregious and ill-advised proposal.

“This would be a significantly larger windfarm, with significantly higher turbines, than any existing in the Ochil Hills.”

He also noted that the location chosen overlapped two previous windfarm application sites, both of which were refused.

Cumulative impact, meanwhile, may prove to be one of the key issues, as the Lochelbank (18 turbines), Green Knowes (12 turbines) and Burnfoot (21 turbines) sites are all within an 11km radius.

A spokesman from PNE Wind UK urged the public to withhold judgement, saying: “The PNE Wind UK proposals for North Hill Windfarm are at a very early stage and we will be working closely with key stakeholders and the local community to ensure we can deliver a windfarm that is sensitively designed to the natural features of the site.

“I would encourage anyone with an interest in the proposals to visit our website www.pnewindukforestry.co.uk where they can find out more about our plans.”

Residents can also email northhillwindfarm@communityline.org or call 0203 128 8938 for further information.

A spokeswoman for Gleneagles said the hotel and resort had only recently become aware of the scheme and was considering its implications.