SCOTLAND's tourist chiefs have admitted for the first time that wind farms could have a detrimental effect on tourism.
VisitScotland opposed plans for a 10-turbine development at Minnygap, Lockerbie.
The views are contained in a Dumfries and Galloway Council planning committee report that will go before councillors on Thursday.
VisitScotland's position emerged as a planning inquiry gets under way today into the Allt Duine wind farm, which would see 31 turbines built half-a-mile from the boundary of Cairngorms National Park.
The intervention by the agency into the Lockerbie proposal comes days after Alex Salmond claimed wind farms "enhance our appeal as a country".
The submission from the tourist body states the "proposed development appears to be visible from the Southern Upland Way, which is an important part of the tourism offering".
"There have been a number of applications for wind farm developments along the route. Should all of these be granted there could be a cumulative detrimental effect on walkers."
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, convenor of the Scottish parliament's energy and tourism committee, said: "If wind farms will damage tourism in one area of Scotland, this is surely the case the country over. This is a message communities reliant on the tourism trade have been trying to get through to the Scottish Government for years."
VisitScotland has maintained it is not against the principle of wind farm development, and released a survey earlier this year that claimed four out of five tourists visiting Scotland do not see wind farms as a problem.
Campaigners have welcomed its position on the proposal.
Susan Crosthwaite, chairwoman of Communities Against Turbines Scotland, said: "It is very welcome that VisitScotland are at last taking a proactive approach to objecting."
A VisitScotland spokesman said the body understood and supported the drive for renewable energy. He added: "When consulted as part of the formal planning process, VisitScotland recommends tourism concerns are taken into account when granting planning permission, and encourages sensitive siting of developments at all times."
Critics of the Allt Duine development claim the wind farm proposed by RWE Innogy, for land west of the A9, would industrialise a precious area of the Highlands, and be a link in a chain of wind farms that would encircle Scotland's biggest national park.
Given its proximity to the national park, many believe it presents the Government with a landmark decision to make.
Ministers had always been due to decide the fate of the development because of its size, but the inquiry was triggered after Highland Council voted three to one against the plan.
The application is opposed by other statutory consultees including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, the John Muir Trust and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.
Duncan Bryden, convener and planning chairman of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: "If allowed to go ahead, this wind farm would transform the Monadhliath skyline and contribute to the gradual encircling of the north-western boundary of the Park – with turbines visible from iconic high points like the Ptarmigan Restaurant."
Jenny Gascoigne, RWE npower renewables' wind development manager, earlier said the turbines would be shielded from view by the ridgeline that forms the park boundary.
The turbines would not be visible from Kincraig, Kingussie or Aviemore or along the A9 corridor, she added.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article