Forthbank Wind Energy Development - Partnerships for Renewables

Forthbank Wind Energy Development
9.5.18 As stressed above, cumulative effects on landscape elements are not included in the
cumulative assessment as they cannot be assessed without detailed knowledge of the other
wind energy development sites.
9.5.19 However, despite cumulative impacts on landscape and visual amenity having been assessed
following the same methodology, the key factors determining the magnitude of cumulative
change include:
• the number of existing, consented and/or proposed wind energy developments
visible;
• the distance to each of the existing, consented, and/or proposed wind energy
developments;
• the direction of each wind energy development in relation to the viewpoint, or
landscape or visual receptor; and
• the horizontal angle occupied by each wind energy development in relation to the
viewer and the other wind energy developments in the view.
9.5.20 This cumulative assessment makes no judgements as to the appropriateness or acceptability
of the planned, constructed or consented turbines considered in this cumulative assessment
other than the proposed Forthbank wind energy development turbines.
9.5.21 An assessment of the significance of the impacts can be made, by combining the magnitude of
change predicted and the sensitivity of the visual amenity or landscape character, to that
particular type of change. Those effects that are defined as being moderate to substantial or
greater are judged to be significant.
9.5.22 A significant cumulative effect will occur where the addition of the wind energy development
to other existing and proposed wind energy developments will result in a landscape character
or view that is defined by the presence of more than one wind energy development and is
characterised primarily by wind energy developments so that other patterns and components
are no longer definitive.
9.5.23 If the wind energy development itself is assessed to have a significant effect on landscape
character receptor or view, it does not necessarily follow that the cumulative effect will also be
significant. If the joint effect of the two or more wind energy developments does not result in
the perception of a wind energy development-defined landscape, the cumulative effect will be
not significant, even if the effect of the wind energy development itself is significant.
9.5.24 As with the assessment of effects of the wind energy development in isolation, the significance
of cumulative effects is determined through a combination of the sensitivity of the landscape
receptor or view and the magnitude of change upon it. The sensitivity of landscape receptors
and views is the same in the cumulative assessment as in the assessment of the wind energy
development in isolation. However, the cumulative magnitude of change is assessed in a
different way.
November 2010 Chapter 9 Page 100
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