Tuesday July 7th 2026
A view of the Lammermuir HIlls, East Lothian.
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A list of East Lothian’s most sensitive landscapes is being drawn up in a bid to guide developers away from those considered high risk.
East Lothian Council has seen growing demand for wind farms and batter energy storage systems (BESS) around its coast and hills in recent years sparking concern about its impact on its natural beauty spots.
Now a team of experts have produced a Landscape Sensitivity Assessment (LSA) for the modern developments including substations and data centres in a bid to protect those areas which need to be protected.
Among areas identified as highly sensitive to any future wind farms are large parts of the Lammermuir Hills, the coast line from Cockenzie to Dunbar and Garleton Hills.
Only two areas are considered to have a low sensitivity to wind farms on the fringes of Musselburgh and farmland beside the town.
The draft LSA has been put out for public consultation today on the council’s hub here
The local authority said it commissioned Land Use Consultants to prepare the LSA for wind energy, solar photovoltaic (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS) and certain other large-scale developments, such as substations and data centres.
It said: “This LSA provides judgements on the sensitivity of the landscape within the East Lothian Council area to these types of development. It considers different scales of each type of development, with the exception of other large-scale development.
“The findings of this assessment will help the council and developers guide renewable energy developments to less sensitive parts of the landscape and achieve better design outcomes through well-considered siting and appropriate mitigation.
“East Lothian has experienced growing interest in renewable energy development, including proposals for taller wind turbines exceeding 150 metres. Alongside this, updates to NatureScot’s landscape guidance and the adoption of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) highlight the need for refreshed guidance to effectively manage future proposals.”
The draft LSA advices developers to look at the different sites and their sensitivity before considering applications for projects on them
The council says it welcomes comments on the draft guidance and will consider all input before a final guide is published later this year.
Tweet Share on Facebook
