Windfarm campaigners dismiss job creation claims

Opponents of a Perthshire windfarm this week described developers' job creation claims for the scheme as "fantasy".

- ALASTAIR MCNEILL

Glen Lednock Wind Farm applicant Low Carbon have said the scheme which comprises 31 turbines some as high as 200m - on uplands of 600m between Loch Tay and Loch Earn - would create 38 long-term jobs.

But Save Glen Lednock campaigners this week pointed to a report they had commissioned from planning consultants Planwell which casts doubt on this job creation estimate.

Campaigner Alastair Forsyth said: "The developer claims that during operation of the wind farm 38 full-time equivalent jobs would be created in the local area.

"However, this figure is really a fantasy. Experience from existing wind farms in Scotland shows there is often less than one local job from large wind farms, with maintenance conducted by specialists brought in from across the country and Europe.