Summary of Proposed Dunbar Community Wind Turbine

This document provides a non-technical summary of a community owned wind turbine development at Cocklaw Hill, approximately 7km south east of Dunbar. The available wind resource on top of the hill provides a great opportunity to provide a sustainable level of income to the local area. It is estimated that approximately 4 million will be raised over the first 20 years of the development. Funds will be made available for projects within Ward 7 of East Lothian. A supporting Environmental Statement has been prepared and will be submitted alongside the planning application to East Lothian Council. This provides a detailed description of the proposed development and assesses the potential impacts associated with the construction and operation of the proposed development. Where adverse impacts have been identified, mitigation measures are outlined. Appendices to the planning application will also include detailed layout maps, plans and visualisations in the form of photomontages and zones of theoretical visibility.
Proposed turbine location shown as black triangle

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Proposed Development
The proposed development consists of single wind turbine of a maximum height from the base to the blade tips of 56m. The turbine choice has been carefully considered to ensure that it fits well with existing development and does not negatively impact on the landscape quality of the area. The turbine would be located adjacent to the existing TV mast on Cocklaw hill and will include the following components: Foundations The turbine foundations will be a rectangular structure and will be completely underground with the top being backfilled with the existing hardstanding for this car parking area. Transformer building - It is proposed that the required turbine transformer, switchgear and protection equipment is either located within the base of the tower (preferred option) or alternatively in a small building located next to the base of the tower.

Specification
Rated capacity Status Proposed tower height Rotor diameter Distance ground to blade tip Maximum rotational speed Estimated operational life

RRB 47
500 kW New 32.8 m 47 m 56.3 m 15 - 31 rpm 25 years View of proposed wind turbine from Thurston Manor

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Need for the Development

Sustaining Dunbar have set up Dunbar Community Energy company as a non-profitable company with the aim of implementing a renewable energy project capable of providing a sustainable source of revenue to the Dunbar and District area. Sustaining Dunbar have developed a Local Resilience Action Plan which has been developed in order to better equip the area for the impacts of climate change and the reduced production of fossil fuels within the next 15 years. Over 1,500 residents in the Dunbar and East Linton Ward area were interviewed and highlighted a number of issues such as locally sourced food, transport and local job opportunities. The wind turbine will provide Sustaining Dunbar to provide a source of grant funding to support local projects that compliment the Action Plan. It is suggested that projects will focus on the 5 main areas discussed within the Action Plan: Food Energy Transportation Health Enterprise, Skills and Education

View of proposed turbine from A1 to north of site

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Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment

A detailed landscape and visual impact assessment was undertaken by an experienced independent chartered landscape architect. This work included the preparation of several photomontages and wireframes to demonstrate how the turbine would look from key viewpoints. The turbine is located within the Eastern Lammermuir Fringe, which is described as a complex rolling landform of small hills and narrow valleys. Care has been taken through the design of the development to ensure that the turbine fits well into the current view of the wider area. The turbine is located so that it reflects the existing development pattern of the TV mast on Cocklaw Hill. Particular attention has also been given to visually sensitive areas such as Oldhamstocks Conservation Area, the scale of turbine chosen means that the turbine would not be visible from within the conservation area. Although the Landscape Capacity Guidance states that there would be no scope for development at this site, it is considered that this applies to the wider area and does not consider site specific elements. The Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment concluded that the overall integrity and setting of key public views are not significantly affected and the character, appearance and setting of sensitive landscape areas will not be significantly impacted.

View of turbine from Monynut Edge

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Noise Impact Assessment

A desk based noise assessment was undertaken to demonstrate the potential impact of turbine noise levels at residential properties. The nearest dwelling is located approximately 1.2km to the north west of the turbine location at Thurston Mains. The noise assessment was carried out assuming worst case conditions and carried out in accordance with industry standard guidance (ETSU) and noise data provided by the turbine manufacturer. ETSU guidance states that further noise monitoring will be required if a desk based study shows noise levels to be over 35dB at an individual property. As is shown in the figure to the right, the properties at Thurston Mains will be well outside the 35dB limit. It was concluded that site specific noise monitoring would not be necessary and no other residential properties would be affected by turbine noise.

Expected noise levels from the wind turbine

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Shadow Flicker Impact Assessment

At certain periods of the year, the sun may be positioned in the sky behind the swept area of the turbine blades causing shadow flicker. As stated in national planning guidance, where separation is provided between wind turbines and nearby dwellings up to 10 rotor diameters, shadow flicker should not be a problem at the site As is shown in the adjacent map, there are no residential dwellings within 10 rotor diameters (470m) of the proposed turbine location.

10 rotor diamater seperation distance from turbine

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Ecological Impact Assessment

An ecological assessment was completed by experienced independent ecological consultants BSG Ltd. The following has been concluded from their assessment: Habitats: The field within which the turbine will be located will be improved grassland. The construction of the wind turbine will result in the loss of a small area of improved grassland habitat that is considered to be of minimal ecological interest. Designated Sites: Lammermuir Deans Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is the only statutory designated wildlife site located within 2km of the proposed development site. The SSSI is located more than 1km to the south-west of the wind turbine location. The SSSI is designated for the habitats contained within several steep valleys. No direct or indirect impacts are predicted on the SSSI during the construction phase because of the separation distance between the sites. Protected Species: Badgers: No signs of badger presence was detected during the site survey. Habitats within the vicinity of the wind turbine location are considered to be poor for badger setts. Bats: The nearest potential bat roost features to the wind turbine location are associated with some mature oak trees located approximately 790m to the south east. This is sufficiently distant that impacts arising from the proposed development are considered highly unlikely. Otter: During the survey of the man-made pond to the south-east of the proposed wind turbine location, an old otter spraint was found near the eastern end. It is very unlikely that otters would move north from the pond towards the wind turbine location. Wintering Birds: The turbine site lies approximately 10km to the south-east of the Firth of Forth SPA,SSSI and Ramsar site which is designated for its population of wintering pink-footed geese. The results of the walkover survey found no evidence to indicate that geese have been feeding within the fields adjacent to the turbine location.

Breeding Birds: No bird species were recorded in the vicinity of the proposed wind turbine location i.e. within 50m. The improved grassland pasture field within which the proposed wind turbine will be located is considered to provide poor habitat for breeding birds. The fields around the proposed turbine location are not bordered by hedgerows or species-rich field margins and habitat connectivity is poor.

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Socioeconomics
The development of a community owned wind turbine at Cocklaw Hill will provide a positive contribution to the local economy. The revenue raised from the sale of renewable electricity will provide the district of East Linton and Dunbar with a sustainable source of income. This will be used to fund local projects that help to create and secure local jobs and ultimately improve the socioeconomic profile of the region. It is estimated that 4 million of useable funds will be available over the first 20 years of the turbine operation. The construction and operation of the turbine will also contribute to the local economy through the payment of rent, rates, local supply contracts during construction and turbine maintenance contracts. The Socioeconomic assessment detailed within the Environmental Statement has concluded that there would be no negative effects on local business, households or tourism within the area. The scale and location of the turbine has been designed in order to have no negative environmental or economic impacts on local residences, local businesses, scenic views, cultural heritage sites and conservation areas within the region.

Telecommunications
The presence of a wind turbine has the potential to interfere with mobile phone and television signals. Consultation was carried out with link operators within the region and the proposed turbine does not affect telecommunications within the area and the turbine was found to be an acceptable distance from the nearest telecommunications links. The desk based television assessment shows that loss of local television reception is unlikely to occur. Any minimal expected level of impact which might occur will be mitigated at the expense of the developer.

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Aviation
Due to the height of the proposed wind turbine, there is the potential that it could interfere with flight safety, ground based RADAR systems and aircraft navigation systems. Aviation bodies will generally only comment on a development once a full application has been submitted, a desk based assessment has been carried out in this instance. Civilian airports The turbine will be outwith the safeguarding zone at Edinburgh Airport. A desk based assessment has also concluded that the development will not interfere with RADAR at the airport. MOD The site is within a low priority low flying zone for MOD. The development is also outwith Radar coverage from RAF Leuchars in Fife NATS En-Route Ltd (NERL) - NERL are responsible for the RADAR systems that cover the movement of aircraft to and from the airport and aerodromes within the UK. They have publicly available assessment maps that demonstrate where turbines of differing heights would be visible to their RADAR Stations across the UK. From a review of this information, the Dunbar turbine will not be visible to RADAR.

Cultural Heritage
The setting of historic sites such as listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments are sensitive to any physical or visual impacts from wind turbines. An assessment was carried out to determine the effect the wind turbines would have on cultural heritage sites within 5 km of the proposed site. For the majority of the sites the primary consideration is whether the turbine will have a significant impact on the setting of the sites through increased visual impact. The effect on these sites was not considered to be significant, mainly due to the existing TV mast at Cocklaw Hill.

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Conclusions
Based on the positive impacts of the development, and the low level of negative impacts (as mitigated, where required), it is considered that the proposed site is a suitable location for a wind turbine development at the scale proposed. A summary of the main potential impacts and their significance is given below. Development Potential Impact
Traffic Noise Construction Phase Visual SocioEconomics Landscape & Visual Soils & Hydrology Operational Phase Shadow Flicker Noise Ecology SocioEconomics

Significance of Impact following mitigation

Low Low Low Negligible High (positive) Short-term impact on local road users.

Comment

Short-term impact. Best practice construction activities will be employed and work hours limited to avoid impacts on local amenity. Short-term impact will include that of two cranes and excavations for turbine base construction. The construction phase will provide employment for local trades people, labourers, and specialised contractors. This will have a direct, short-term, positive impact on the local economy. The overall impact on the landscape and specific visual receptors is not considered to be significant. This has been shown through a detailed LVIA and through photomontages from key viewpoints. The scale of development and the specific site conditions are such that the potential impact is considered to be negligible assuming the construction and operational stages follow best practice guidance. A desk based study has demonstrated that shadow flicker will not occur at nearby properties A desk based study has demonstrated that adverse noise impacts will not occur at nearby properties. An ecological assessment has shown that the habitat quality at the site is poor and there is unlikely to be an adverse impact on protected bird and mammal species. The community ownership of the project means that the surrounding area will receive a strong financial benefit from the turbine.

Low

Low Negligible Negligible Low High (positive)

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