Belltown Power's Newlands Hill Wind Energy Hub exhibition 14 September to 12 October (inc in-person exhibitions planned for 21 - 23 September) have been postponed as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.  We will advertise new exhibition dates in the coming weeks. 

Following revisions to the proposed Newlands Hill Wind Energy Hub, Belltown Power has today resubmitted a scoping request to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) for an energy hub to be located on land in the Lammermuirs, 6kms southeast of Gifford in East Lothian. The proposals now includes up to 17 turbines with tip heights from 180m to 200m and an associated energy storage facility.

Because of the revisions made to the proposals it was necessary for us to resubmit a scoping request. The scoping request seeks confirmation from statutory consultees on Belltown Power’s approach to producing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project which will support the planning submission which we aim to submit in spring 2023.

A copy of the scoping request and all supporting documents including revised layout can be found in the Project Documents section on our website or on the ECU website, ref number: ECU00004603

We have today uploaded our first consultation Pre Application Consultation (PAC) report to the Newlands Hill project website, you can find it in the Project Documents section.  This document is a summary of the March/April consultation and what we did to promote the exhibitions, outlining the main feedback and themes raised with us by members of the local community and our responses to that feedback. Once again we'd like to thank all those who took time to participate in the consultation sessions and welcome more engagement at the second consultation sessions to be held in late September 2022.

Today Belltown Power commenced work to erect the consented 90m met mast for the Newlands Hill project.  In line with Belltown’s policy on using local businesses the excavation of the anchor points was being carried out by a local contractor.  Due to the historic use of the site during World War II, and in accordance with best practices, there was an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) specialist on site to survey all intrusive works.

On commencing work, the team discovered a small mortar round. An exclusion zone was immediately put in place and the find was reported to Police Scotland who are managing the process of disposal with the appropriate authorities. Works will get back underway once the authorities have confirmed it is safe to do so.  We will look to keep people informed on this issue as things develop on site.

The 90m mast will be installed to gather further wind data for the project, supporting our existing LiDAR which is on site. The mast is consented for up to 5 years and will be installed later this summer.

We would like to thank all residents, local businesses and community groups that took the time to find out more about our proposals and provide comments and feedback.  At Belltown we recognise that community consultation is fundamental to good project development as it allows us to better understanding the views, concerns and support for the project so we can continue to develop our proposal in the best way possible. 

Although the virtual exhibition closed on 28 March 2022, the exhibition material will remain on our project website and we will continue to accept feedback on the current plans until 28 April 2022. You can access our exhibition material here.

We will hold a second exhibition event later this year where we will bring forward revised plans based on the feedback and continued development of the Newlands Hill Wind Energy Hub.  We now expect the second exhibition to be held in September/October in order to avoid the school summer holidays.  We will advertise this event again via this website as well as posting adverts in the East Lothian Courier and sending out individual invitations to local residents – we hope to see you there!  

Thank you again for taking the time to take part in the consultation.  Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any follow up questions or comments by emailing newlandshill@belltownpower.com.  

Exhibitions to be held next week with a virtual exhibition available here for those who can’t attend in person.

Belltown Power UK CEO Paul Hewett said: “We are excited to launch the Newlands Hill Wind Energy Hub consultation events and believe this project has the potential to make a significant contribution towards meeting Scotland’s Net Zero carbon targets. If consented the project would offer local communities a Community Benefit Fund of £5,000 per annum per MW of installed capacity as well as our ground-breaking Community Ownership model that gives 1% of the project to the local community for free and enables communities to invest further at a discounted rate once the project is de-risked and operational.”

Paul continued “Belltown Power is a small UK based team who are driven by a desire to help tackle the global climate emergency. However, communities, local environments and education are also at the heart of everything we do. Our team are looking forward to meeting people locally and introducing the project and the benefits it can bring to the area.”
 

This consultation will run from 8th March to 28th March and will include:

Physical Exhibitions – These are taking place on:
•    Tuesday 15th March 2022 at Garvald Village Hall – 1pm to 8pm
•    Wednesday 16th March 2022 at Gifford Village Hall – 1pm to 8pm

Please come and meet the team where you can find out more about the proposals, ask questions and share your views.

Virtual Exhibition – If you are unable to attend an event in person please visit our virtual exhibition which includes the materials you would see in our Physical Exhibitions. We ask that you share your views or register for updates via our website and feedback form.  

This event has been advertised via the East Lothian Courier and an invitation has been sent to all residents within 15km of the site.  We look forward to engaging with any questions and feedback you may have on the project.
 

A planning application has been submitted for the installation of a temporary meteorological mast which will be used to measure and validate the wind resource at the Newlands Hill site.

Belltown Power has today submitted a scoping request to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) for an energy hub to be located on land in the Lammermuirs, southeast of Gifford in East Lothian. The proposals include up to 23 turbines with tip heights from 180m to 230m and an associated energy storage facility. 

The scoping request seeks confirmation from statutory consultees on Belltown Power’s approach to producing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project which will support the planning submission which is anticipated in summer 2022.

A copy of the scoping request and all supporting documents can be found in the ‘Project Documents’ section on our website or on the ECU website ref number: ECU00003383