Monday October 19th 2026
Hannah Mary Goodlad, Minister for Public Finance
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Campaigners in the Scottish Borders say windfarm applications should come under the same scrutiny as data centres.
The call comes after a key debate in the Scottish parliament in which Hannah Mary Goodlad, Minister for Public Finance, accepted an amendment put forward by Scottish Labour, that planning guidance for data centres “must provide clarity on spatial, community and social impacts of any such developments and that decisions must be based on community consent.”
Campaigners say the impact of windfarms and vast battery storage sites is equally damaging and should also be based on community consent, particularly given that Scotland’s energy needs have already been met.
Fiona Nugent, secretary of Newcastleton Community Council, said: “Giant wind farms, pylon lines and battery compounds have a devastating impact on the landscape and local communities.
“Unless you live close to a windfarm it’s hard to envisage just how big they are – modern wind turbines are the height of 46 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other, and some are even taller.
“Many of the proposed battery storage sites cover 40 football pitches, they are huge installations and totally incongruous in rural areas.
“The sheer number of energy developments is having a real impact not only on our landscape but on our environment, our wildlife and the potential for local, sustainable tourism businesses.
“There are seven windfarm schemes in the planning system currently for Teviot and Liddesdale alone, totalling a further 192 turbines. It’s absurd to keep building more and more, without any oversight of the consequences.”
Over 200 community councils in Scotland – including 21 in the Scottish Borders – have joined forces to call for a pause on construction of further energy schemes until a strategic energy plan is in place for Scotland, and the cumulative impact of all developments is assessed.
Ian Foulkes, who lives in Carfrae, added: “The Scottish Government appears to have understood that data centres need proper scrutiny. But windfarm applications are being assessed on an ad hoc basis, with the majority just waved through.
“There is no single entity looking at the cumulative impact across the region or indeed across Scotland. We should have the ability to withhold consent for the most damaging energy developments where they threaten our environment, our archaeology or rare wildlife such as golden eagles or curlew. There is no joined-up thinking at all and it is rural communities that are paying the price.”
Borders residents are among the rural communities calling for a Scottish Planning Inquiry to examine the transformation of Scotland’s energy system across the board and bring an end to the current practice of assessing planning applications in fragments.
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