Please consider signing our petition to halt the development of the Neven Point wind farm on Eday:
The natural beauty and rural tranquillity of Eday is being put at risk by a proposal to develop five wind turbines on the south side of the island. The wind turbines would each be 180m in height (to blade tip), dominating the southern skyline of Eday and surrounding areas. The infrastructure of Eday, as one of the smallest islands, is in no way capable of supporting a project of this scale.
The existing wind turbine on Eday is only 67m in height. The planned sites for the industrial styled turbines are within less than 0.9 miles (1.5 km) of thirty-one permanent residences. This is significantly closer than recommended for wind turbines that are 180 m in height (Gillespie’s LLP, 2014). Noise, flickering and the visual intrusion present a real risk to the quality of life, health and wellbeing for these residences. For comparison, the proposed turbines are almost double the size of those on Sanday, while Eday is half the size:
Sanday is 20 square miles while Eday is only 10 square miles
Sanday wind turbines are 100m in height but the Eday wind turbines are to be 180m in height.
There are no residences in the immediate area of the Sanday turbines but the Eday turbines will be in close proximity to numerous permanent residences.
As VisitScotland describes, "Eday is rich in archaeology and wildlife, and the island is one of Orkney's real undiscovered gems". Visitors to Eday always highlight the beauty and tranquillity of the island. The proposed development will affect any B&Bs on the island and would dominate the skyline for visitors arriving on the island, if indeed they continue to visit at all. The tourist industry of Eday will be hurt by the development with a loss of income and development potential. OIC (Orkney Island Council), HIE (Highland and Island Enterprises), SG (Scottish Government) and others recognise the critical value of tourism and economic diversification to our traditionally agricultural and remote island communities.
While possible monetary incentives have been offered in return for the development, the incentives are vague and there is no clear proposal as to how this would benefit the entire community. It is also unclear whether the incentives are guaranteed to materialise. The current timeline does not allow for adequate research, independent surveys, or concrete financial proposals to be done by the community. More time for an informed, educated, and neutral assessment is required.
The opinion of a long time regular visitor
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZPe2NX8ZOmaV9ythb-PhSzKoJPnA-BYs7q4dEcljbXY/edit?tab=t.0
Local Community Councils gathering Highland region
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BCzfVMX1M/