Plans for a 12-turbine wind farm along a tourist route in the scenic Blue Stack Mountains of Donegal have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
The "adverse visual impact" of the proposal in an "unspoilt, highly scenic landscape" is one of the reasons given by the planning appeals board for refusal of the development in the townlands of Owenboy and Sruell, 7½ km north of Donegal town.
It maintains that the proposal by SCG Wind Ltd would materially contravene the county's development plan by reason of its proximity to existing habitable dwellings and streams. It has also decided that the development would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard and obstruction of road users.
SCG Wind Ltd appealed a decision by Donegal County Council in February to refuse planning permission for the development.
One of the main reasons for the council's refusal was that the vast majority of the site was within an area classified as Landscape Category 3 - the highest scenic area.
In its five grounds for rejecting the appeal, the board pointed out that the project would be located within 500 metres of existing dwellings and within 150 metres of existing streams.
