Digital, Policy, VentusAR

Public Engagement for Wind Turbine Proposals – Good Practice Guidance


This week (3 November, 2014) the Scottish Government posted a consultation draft document on guidance and best practice for wind turbine planning.  The document aims to create discussion and feedback and allows stakeholders to contribute and ultimately help better engage with communities and members of the public.

Both consultation draft and the feedback document are available at the link below:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/11/7727

Details of the process are described below (taken directly from the Scottish Government text).

In response to the Public Petition PE1469 the Scottish Government has agreed to prepare guidance on good practice community engagement methods for wind energy development proposals. The petition was lodged with the Scottish Parliament on 19th March 2013 and closed by the Local Government & Regeneration Committee on 20th August 2014.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/71311.aspx

This consultation seeks responses to the questions set out within the draft guidance document. This allows stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the content of the guidance. Comments will be taken into account before the document is finalised in Spring 2015.

This guidance has been produced to advise a range of potential stakeholders including local authorities, developers, community groups and members of the public.

There are many aspects to public engagement, and Linknode’s VentusAR technology fits into the visual impact component – helping make developments more accessible, relevant and understandable.  This is often the most contentious part of development affecting a community and we have many clients and examples of how stakeholders and visual receptors have utilised the solution within the pre-planning consultation and formal planning process.

The Scottish government consultation comes close on the heels of the DECC “Community Engagement and Benefit Guidance for Onshore Wind” that we covered in the Blogality entry last month.  In a similar vein, see the Wordle below for the key words and phrases used in the narrative.

Public Engagement for Wind Turbines Good Practice
Public Engagement for Wind Turbines Good Practice

Linknode encourage everyone involved in wind development; landowners, developers, communities, members of the public and other formal and informal groups to read and take active participation in the review process.  We will report on the outcomes and updated guidance in 2015.