Planning application documents have been submitted by Orkney Islands Council for a six-turbine wind farm development and associated marine infrastructure on Faray in Orkney’s North Isles.
An Environmental Impact Assessment – which provides detail on the likely effects of the project on the environment - has been produced, which covers both the turbines and the marine infrastructure, however the two elements of the project are subject to separate regulatory processes.
A planning application has been submitted to the local planning authority for elements of the project above Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS), i.e. the onshore wind turbines and associated infrastructure above MLWS.
At the same time, marine licence applications have been submitted to Marine Scotland’s Marine Licensing Team (MS-LOT) for works below Mean High Water Springs (MHWS), i.e. the installation of improved access to Faray via construction of a new extended slipway and landing jetty.
Two marine licence applications are required, one for the construction and one for dredging disposal operations.
Both elements of the project were subject to pre-application consultation processes in October 2020 and March 2021 respectively.
‘Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project – Faray’ is the last of three projects comprising ‘Orkney's Community Wind Farm Project’ to be submitted for planning, with two other proposed council-owned wind farm developments sites being located at Quanterness in St Ola and at Wee Fea in Hoy.
As with Hoy and Quanterness, a request will be made to the Scottish Ministers to call in the planning application covering the onshore elements, on the grounds of national importance.
The full application documents for the onshore elements of the project are available through the Council website. For more information visit the Planning Application Search and Submission page of the website - read the Disclaimer and Copyright document available in the 'Related Downloads' section and then click on the 'Accept and Search' button.
For the ‘Orkney’s Community Wind Farm – Faray’ planning application search for 21/240/TPPMAJ
Information on how to comment on a planning application – whether that be to support the proposal or object to it – and what happens to those comments is available at our Commenting on an Application web page.
Comments can be submitted in writing, either by email to planning@orkney.gov.uk, online through the Planning Portal or by post to: Development Management, Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, KW15 1NY.
The consultation period begins 15 July 2021 and runs for 30 days.
Should the project be called in by the Scottish Government before then, all submissions received by the local planning authority prior to that will be passed directly to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), who’ll then take on responsibility for the application.
To comment on the marine licensable elements of the project, go to the Marine Scotland - Marine Licence Applications website. Comments on the marine licence applications should be made to Marine Scotland Licensing Operations Team at: ms.marinelicensing@gov.scot. A notification for the commencement of this process will appear in The Orcadian in due course.
In line with the Town and Country Planning (Miscellaneous Temporary Modifications) (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, that came into place on the 24th April 2020, and the Marine Works and Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Temporary Modifications) (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, the Environmental Impact Assessment Report will be available for public inspection online only.
However, all documents are available (as a PDF for screen viewing only) on a USB for £15.00 or as a hard copy for £1,600.00 (including printing and distribution), by emailing Sweyn Johnston - sweyn.johnston@orkney.gov.uk - or by phone 01856 852 271.
