The Highland Council has revised its guidance for the building of small-scales windfarms.

A public consultation had shown there was a high demand for small-scale wind turbine developments in the area, and so the Council reworked its Supplementary Guidance.

The document will now be passed on to the Scottish Government.

The Council says the Guidance, once adopted, will "carry considerable weight in decision-making as part of the Highland Wide Development Plan and will provide a much needed clear, consistent and robust approach to deal with applications for small-scale wind turbines."

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Vice Chairman, George Farlow said: "As well as contributing to our commitment in the promotion of the energy sector and encouraging installed capacity of renewable energy, the Guidance is aimed at harnessing appropriate opportunities for potential development.

"Members will be able to make informed decisions. By their nature small-scale developments tend to be located closer to where people live and work so we want to ensure concerns people have are addressed at an early stage. In any decision making process we need to have a very clear and consistent approach."

The Guidance forms part of the Council’s Onshore Wind Energy Supplementary Guidance.

It will now act as a reference point for prospective developers of small scale wind turbines.

The Highland Council says the Guidance reaffirms a "commitment to identify means whereby communities can participate in and benefit from the development of renewable energy across the Highlands."

(IT/GK)