Design Considerations

The site layout is the result of an iterative design process informed by site assessment and feedback from the community and stakeholder consultation. It has taken into account and responded to the site constraints. As a result Banks Renewables believe that the 26 turbine layout offers the best option for development of the site.

Planning
The key planning considerations taken into account during the design iteration process were:

• Landscape and visual impact with a focus on views from the settlements to the north of the site.
• Ecology and ornithology
• Ground conditions, including the areas of deep peat
• Impact on residential properties including noise and shadow flicker

Access
Traffic associated with Kype Muir will enter the site via junction 8 of the M74, along the A71, departing onto the B743, and entering the site boundary via Lambshill Road. This has been assessed to be acceptable, by both our consultants and South Lanarkshire Council (subject to satisfying planning conditions and implementing appropriate works).

The assessments undertaken consider the three life cycle phases of wind farm development:

• Construction
• Operation
• Decommissioning

Of these phases, the project construction phase has the most traffic associated with it. The operational phases are restricted to occasional maintenance operations which generate much lower volumes of traffic, which are not considered to be in excess of daily traffic variation levels on the road network. The decommissioning phase involves fewer trips on the network (than the construction phase) as elements of infrastructure such as access tracks, electrical connections are often left in place, adding to local infrastructure.

Habitat Management 
Felling of the existing coniferous forestry on the site offers a significant opportunity to enhance the biodiversity value of the site, while the network of new forest tracks throughout the site will create new recreational opportunities. The habitat management plan, which will be put in place after construction of the wind farm, seeks to create a balance between replacement woodland planting; protections and enhancement of priority species; and the creation and connectivity of priority habitats.

Please click the following link for Kype Muir’s habitat management plan: Kype Muir Wind Farm Habitat Management Plan