AOC Windfarm Seminar Home

Scotland has the potential to lead the world in wind farm development, but how is the sector currently positioned and what are the planning and heritage challenges and opportunities facing it today?

We at AOC Archaeology, one of the UK’s leading archaeological and cultural heritage consulting firms and Indigo, award-winning public relations and public affairs specialists would like to invite you to a free seminar to highlight latest developments in the sector in Scotland and their impact on the planning and heritage environment for wind farm developments.

Programme

10.00 Registration tea & coffee

10.30 Welcome: Dr Andy Heald, Deputy Managing Director, AOC Archaeology

10.45    Chairman’s introduction: George Kerevan, TheScotsman

10.50    ‘Setting the Scene’: Rosie Vetter, Scottish Renewables

Where does Scotland stand now in terms of renewable energy generation and what is the current mix? What is the Scottish Government strategy in this area and what are the main challenges/opportunities ahead?

11.10    The current planning environment for wind farm developers: Colin Innes, Shepherd and Wedderburn

How does the current planning regime impact on the wind farm sector? What are the key issues in terms of planning that developers are facing and what are the latest developments to be aware of? This session will include discussions on development plans in Scotland, the development of Supplemental Planning Guidance, cumulative issues and issues associated with noise and visualisations.

11.30    Heritage legislation and its consequences for Wind Farm development in Britain: John Barber, Managing Director, AOC Archaeology

This session will cover the range of planning legislation, regulation and guidance on the treatment of heritage in the planning process, with particular emphasis on the consequences for wind farm development.

12.00    Questions/Discussion

12.15    Lunch

1.00      Mitigating visual impact: challenges and solutions John Barber, Managing Director, AOC Archaeology

There are very few instances in which archaeological remains on the site of a proposed wind farm have proved insurmountable obstacles to the development and indirect impacts upon the setting of monuments in the surrounding landscape are often the main cultural heritage concerns arising from proposed wind farm developments.

This session will offer a definition of setting that has been tested at public inquiry and suggest strategies for the mitigation of landscape scale visual impacts.

1.30     Heritage, communities and development: Dr Andy Heald, Deputy Managing Director, AOC Archaeology

This session will suggest strategies for pro-actively involving communities with their heritage in windfarm development areas. This will illustrate how a partnership of developers and local communities could allow people to experience, enjoy and connect with their heritage in harmony with various national, regional and local policies.

2.00     Community Engagement: Alex Orr, Indigo

Wind farm developments are notoriously controversial and difficult to progress through the planning system. It is also often difficult to engage with local communities on the issue of community benefit. This session will highlight top tips based on practical experience helping developers through the planning process.

2.20      Questions/Discussion

Join us at the nineteenth century Merchants’ Hall, one of Scotland’s hidden gems and until recently used exclusively by the members of The Edinburgh Merchant Company.

We would be delighted if you could make it to this event and please fill in the booking form to let us know if you are able to attend or not. Alternatively, please contact Alex Orr on:

alex@indigopr.com, Tel: 0131 554 6512