THE construction of a giant windfarm on Ballindalloch Muir could lead to pollution of the countryside, campaigners have warned.

Villagers who have formed a group to fight npower renewables’ plan to build a windfarm of nine turbines - each more than 400 feet tall  - on Ballindalloch Muir point to the pollution of the land, rivers and burns after the Braes of Doune windfarm was built.

Now Endrick Valley Action Group (EVAG) – which is campaigning against the Ballindalloch windfarm - say they fear the same will happen to the River Endrick and surrounding West Stirlingshire countryside.

They say that before the wind turbines are erected, giant pits have to be dug out of the ground and filled with concrete as a base for each of the turbine towers. EVAG say disruption of this scale is bound to have a detrimental effect on the environment.

Chairman of EVAG, Gordon Adams, from Balfron said: “Giant holes will be dug out of our countryside and thousands of tons of concrete will be poured into these holes. Natural ground water running through this concrete could become toxic and carry these toxins through the land into burns and rivers.

“The general disruption caused by this massive building operation will pollute the countryside damaging wildlife, plant life and our streams and rivers.

“You just have to look at the pollution caused by the construction of the Braes of Doune windfarm. In a report called Scandal on the Braes - produced by people concerned by the environmental damage caused by the windfarm – many examples of pollution were highlighted.”

This report into the Braes of Doune windfarm, built by Airtricity, says observers “watched almost daily as the River Teith and tributaries such as the Garvald Burn, which had flowed so clear for so long, turned a muddy brown, at times looking more like an abandoned urban canal than one of Europe’s prime waterways. One correspondent called it Airtricity’s ‘liquid road’.”

EVAG also says that npower’s proposed windfarm is too close to Balfron - only 1.2 miles from two schools and a nursery in the village – and will be seen for miles around in all directions creating a negative visual impact on the scenery of the Stirlingshire countryside. The group also point to medical experts’ fears that low-frequency noise from wind turbines could cause headaches and other ailments.
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