What Energiekontor Did Not Show You
The following set of wirelines have been generated using Resoft© Windfarm 5 in accordance with NatureScot guidance for A3 prints of 27° views.
Aigas Community Forest & Field Centre
Aigas: Community Forest & Field Centre, nestled in Lower Strathglass at Aigas, is a beacon of community-led conservation and environmental education. The Aigas Community Forest, spanning 703 acres (approximately 285 hectares), was purchased in 2015 through the National Forest Land Scheme after years of planning, fundraising, and unwavering local support. The forest is now managed as a productive, working landscape with a dual mission: ecological restoration and public benefit. Its mosaic of native woodland, commercial planting, and accessible trails supports biodiversity, recreation, and sustainable livelihoods. Adjacent lies the Aigas Field Centre, a renowned hub for nature-based learning founded by Sir John Lister-Kaye, internationally renowned naturalist and conservationist. The centre offers immersive education for schoolchildren and adults, including those with additional support needs and special educational needs. Both venues foster deep ecological awareness and stewardship.
Wireline analysis reveals that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would breach the visual integrity of this landscape, introducing industrial scale infrastructure into a setting defined by its natural rhythms and educational purpose. The development risks eroding the sense of place and undermining the forest’s role as a living classroom and community legacy.
Abriachan Forest Trust
Abriachan Forest Trust sits high above Loch Ness, a community- owned woodland that blends ancient semi-natural forest with regenerating wildwood and open moorland. Its elevated trails and panoramic viewpoints offer sweeping vistas across the Great Glen and the mountains Ben Wyvis, Beinn a’ Bhathaich Ard, the iconic Corbett that defines Strathfarrar, and the many Munros of Glen Affric.
The Trust’s ethos—rooted in conservation, outdoor learning, and community stewardship—makes it a symbol of grassroots environmental care.
From key vantage points within the forest, wireline analysis reveals the intrusion of turbines from the Ballach wind farm, disrupting the visual continuity of the skyline and diminishing the sense of remoteness that defines the area’s character. The development risks undermining the forest’s role as a restorative landscape and cherished public amenity.
Belladrum Estate
Belladrum Estate: Cultural Landscape & Community Anchor Belladrum is more than a Highland estate—it’s a living tapestry of woodland, heritage, and community celebration. The estate’s designed landscape, with its towering champion trees and sweeping valley views, holds both scenic and ecological value. It’s home to the nationally renowned Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival for over 20 years: a vibrant annual gathering that transforms the grounds into a cultural beacon, drawing thousands to experience music, art, and nature in harmony. The estate also supports local livelihoods through woodland management and eco-tourism. The woodlands of Belladrum are a major attraction for walkers, cyclists, and horse riders who enjoy the vistas, taking in the mountains of Strathfarrar and Glen Affric.
Wireline analysis shows that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would breach the visual envelope from key areas within Belladrum, introducing industrial infrastructure into a landscape prized for its tranquillity and cultural resonance. The development risks fragmenting the estate’s visual integrity and undermining its role as a cherished community venue and restorative natural space.
Breakachy
Breakachy: Highland Landscape & Artistic Interpretation Breakachy lies within a quiet fold of the Highland landscape, where wooded slopes and open moorland converge to form a setting of subtle drama and ecological richness. The area’s elevated position offers expansive views across Strathglass and beyond, with visual continuity that reinforces its sense of remoteness and natural integrity. It’s also home to two iconic British artists: Kirstie Cohen and Eugenia Vronskaya. Kirstie Cohen draws inspiration directly from the elemental moods and forms of the surrounding terrain. Her paintings—layered, abstracted, and emotionally resonant—capture the flux of Highland light and land, translating local topography into cultural expression. Eugenia Vronskaya also draws her inspiration from her daily exploration of her immediate natural environment, creating landscapes which are poetic and dreamlike, reflecting her journeys and memories through the spaces that surround her at her studio near Breakachy.
Wireline analysis shows that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would puncture the skyline from key vantage points in Breakachy, introducing industrial verticals into a landscape prized for its quietude and artistic inspiration. The development risks compromising both the visual amenity and the creative atmosphere that defines this unique corner of Inverness-shire.
Testimonial from Kirsty Cohen, artist at Breakachy
“I have been working as an artist from a studio at my home for the last 30 years and have exhibited in world class galleries all over the country. It has up to now been a very peaceful and inspirational place to work; I count myself very fortunate to have this special place in the Highlands.
I will be living right under the proposed Ballach Wind Farm site; this monstrosity if built, will severely impact on my daily life due to noise disturbance and visual impact, destroying the surrounding area that directly influences my work.
If this development goes ahead I worry that it will have a damaging effect on my ability to work in a place that has been so violated. If cannot work, it will directly impact the economic contribution that I make to the area, not to mention the effect on my mental health and stress it will cause.”
Bunchrew
Bunchrew: Historic Estate & Coastal Tranquillity Bunchrew lies on the southern shore of the Beauly Firth, just west of Inverness - a landscape defined by tidal waters, ancient woodland, and expansive views across to the Black Isle, Ben Wyvis, and the Strathfarrar and Glen Affric mountains. At its heartsits Bunchrew House Hotel, a 17th century Scots baronial mansion steeped in Highland heritage.
Surrounded by champion trees and manicured grounds, the hotel offers guests a rare blend of historic charm and coastal serenity, with panoramic views that reinforce its sense of place and retreat. The estate’s shoreline setting is particularly sensitive, offering uninterrupted sightlines across the firth that are integral to its character and appeal. Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would intrude upon these views, introducing industrial verticals into a landscape prized for its heritage, hospitality, and visual harmony. The development risks degrading the scenic value of the Beauly Firth and undermining Bunchrew’s role as a cultural and ecological haven.
Cluanie
Cluanie is an area which sits within the upland folds of Breakachy, west of Beauly, in a landscape shaped by centuries of agricultural use, ecological transition, and cultural continuity. The area forms part of a wider crofting and sporting estate, historically linked to deer stalking and forestry, with terrain that shifts from enclosed pasture to open moor and wooded slopes. Its elevated position offers long views across Strathglass, Strathfarrar and Glen Affric. The iconic Corbett of Beinn a' Bhathaich Àrd is at the forefront of all vistas at Clunie, reinforcing a sense of scale and remoteness that defines the Highland experience. The farm itself is a working landscape, but also a cultural one—home to creative practitioners and community stewards who draw inspiration from its elemental character.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would breach the skyline from key points within Cluanie, introducing industrial infrastructure into a setting valued for its quietude, heritage, and visual coherence. The development risks fragmenting the landscape’s identity and undermining its role as a lived, working, and culturally resonant place.
Eagle Brae
Eagle Brae is a multi-award winning luxury eco log village nestled in the hills of Strathglass, near Beauly - an area defined by its wild upland character, native woodland, and panoramic views across the Highland interior, including views towards the iconic Corbett of Strathfarrar, Beinn a’ Bhathaich Ard. The resort comprises ten hand-crafted cedar log cabins, each with turf roofs and intricate carvings that celebrate Celtic and Pictish heritage. It is powered by its own micro-hydro turbine which is designed to blend seamlessly into the landscape, Eagle Brae offers guests a rare balance of sustainability and luxury. Its commitment to authentic Highland experiences has earned it two Scottish Thistle Awards for Best Self-Catering Accommodation, recognising its excellence in tourism and environmental stewardship.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would be visible from key vantage points within Eagle Brae, disrupting the visual integrity of a landscape curated for immersion, tranquillity, and ecological harmony. The development risks undermining the resort’s core offering and its role as a model for sustainable, place-based tourism. A testimonial from Michael & Pawana Spencer-Nairn, creators of Eagle Brae.
“As the owners of Eagle Brae log village resort in Strathglass we are extremely concerned about the proposed Ballach windfarm and perceive it as an active threat to our business and the livelihoods of all of us who work here. Having seen the wireline visualisation from Eagle Brae its clear the industrial landscape this windfarm will create will fundamentally alter the character of Eagle Brae.
It was an 8 year project involving a £5.8m capital investment to create Eagle Brae, including a £440k rural diversification government grant. Eagle Brae is Scotland’s most successful self-catering business, winning the Thistle national tourism award twice in our first ten years. Eagle Brae has the finest Tripadvisor review record in the UK for our sector and has triumphed over the long-standing problem of seasonality for the self-catering sector in the Scottish Highlands achieving between 80-97% annual occupancy every year with guests from all over the world visiting. Eagle Brae is a flagship business for the self-catering sector and for Scotland.
Annual turnover is between £1m and £1.15m every year, the vast majority of which feeds into the local community via staff, contractors and suppliers. Eagle Brae hosts approx 1700 guests per year who have been projected to spend in excess of £1m per year between them in local restaurants, cafes, galleries, shops, activity providers and attractions.
Eagle Brae is a wilderness log village resort made entirely of natural materials, with wildflower turf roofs, wild deer grazing around the cabins, and incredible views. The experience is precious for our guests, in many cases offering a once-a-year opportunity to be immersed with nature and natural materials and magnificent unspoilt landscapes. With 30-36% of all guests year-onyear being repeat guests it’s clear how important a place Eagle Brae is for our customers.
Around 11 years ago we were threatened by another windfarm (ABO) in the same location. At the time we asked guests to complete a survey as to their reaction to a proposed windfarm in this location. We collected over 450 responses. 97% or respondents said they disapproved of the proposal for a windfarm in this location, 97% confirmed they thought this windfarm would have a negative impact on tourism in Strathglass and 83% confirmed this windfarm would impact their decision to visit Eagle Brae again in the future. I recently informed all our prior guests about the Ballach windfarm proposal and understand over 900 have submitted a formal objection in one week, clearly showing the guest sentiment remains the same as 11 years ago.
Strathglass has given a lot to the national energy effort. All our major rivers have been dammed since the 1950s. For over 70 years this area has been a net exporter of electricity. We have done our bit. Other parts of Scotland have other industries to rely on. Speyside has distilleries, Fife has fantastic arable land for farming, Aberdeenshire the oil industry, the west coast the salmon farming industry, Moray has massive military employment through Lossiemouth base, etc etc. Here in Strathglass and Strathfarrar we just have our scenery. We rely on that scenery as our primary and only major asset. We strongly feel to industrialise this asset would be damaging for us and a shame for everyone. If there are to be any places in our land to remain sacrosanct and wild to retain a fragile connection between people and their natural environment, Strathglass is one of them, and this windfarm should not be allowed to go ahead.
The economics of Energiekontor’s community benefit v. Eagle Brae’s annual contribution to the local community. The developer proposes a 149MW wind farm. Current Highland Council guidelines suggest a community development contribution of £5000 per MW, equating to £745,000 per annum. This amount, in accordance with THC’s Social Value Charter, means the money would not be for the local community, but rather go into a pot to help everywhere throughout the Highlands.
Energiekontor is one of several developers which has not agreed to ‘sign up’ to THC’s Social Value Charter. This charter suggests developers increase their community benefit payments by 250% to £12,500 per/MW, paid into a central ‘pot’ . Therefore, Energiekontor’s annual contribution of £5000 per/MW equates to substantially less than Eagle Brae’s annual contribution of £1-1.5 million, made directly to the local community through wages paid, employment of tradespeople, catering, activities, and other local expenditure. And this contribution does not include the money spent in the local area and further a field by the paying guests at Eagle Brae.
Eagle Brae is just one of many amazing tourism destinations that Ballach will severely impact. If Eagle Brae’s findings are replicated in those businesses the economic loss to the area will be unsustainable and catastrophic.”
Foxhole
Foxhole is a small, elevated hamlet located roughly two miles south of Kiltarlity, perched on the hillside just below the internationally renowned Moniack Writers Centre and the Abriachan Forest Trust. Historically, Foxhole was part of the Belladrum Estate. Its name - unusually for the area - is derived from English rather than Gaelic, referencing the native red foxes of the Aird woodlands. Today, Foxhole remains a quiet rural settlement, with a mix of working farms, cottages, and holiday homes that draw visitors seeking Highland tranquillity. Its position offers long, open views across Strathglass, taking in the Corbetts and Munros of Strathfarrar and Glen Affric, making it visually sensitive and scenically valuable.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would be visible from key locations in and around Foxhole, disrupting the skyline and diminishing the area’s sense of remoteness and visual coherence. The development risks undermining the hamlet’s rural character and its appeal as a peaceful, heritage-rich landscape.
Great Glen Way & Lady Cairn
The Great Glen Way is one of Scotland’s premier long-distance trails, stretching 117 km coast-to-coast from Fort William to Inverness. It follows the geological faultline of the Great Glen—a dramatic linear landform that divides the Highlands and links a chain of lochs, including Loch Ness and Loch Lochy. The route traverses a rich tapestry of canal paths, forest tracks, and upland ridges, offering walkers and cyclists immersive access to some of Scotland’s most iconic scenery. Near Lady Cairn, the Way climbs to a minor road section above Abriachan, where expansive views open across the glen and towards the mountains of Strathfarrar and Glen Affric. This segment is particularly sensitive, forming a visual threshold between the wooded slopes and open uplands.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would be visible from this stretch, puncturing the skyline and disrupting the visual continuity of the glen. The intrusion risks undermining the trail’s scenic value and its role as a national asset for recreation, heritage, and landscape appreciation. The Lady Cairn viewpoint, in particular, offers a moment of reflection and orientation—its integrity should be protected from industrial encroachment that diminishes the experience of scale, solitude, and natural drama.
Inchmore
Inchmore is a small Highland settlement located west of Inverness, positioned along the A862 corridor that links the Highland’s capital to Beauly and the wider Strathglass region. Though modest in scale, Inchmore plays a key role in the local hospitality network, offering accommodation and dining options that serve both visitors and residents. Its proximity to major walking routes, including the Great Glen Way and nearby forest trails, makes it a natural stopover for outdoor enthusiasts and tourists exploring the Highlands. The area’s low-lying position and open views across the Beauly Firth and towards the mountains of Strathfarrar and Glen Affric, along with the surrounding farmland, give it a sense of spaciousness and rural charm.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would be visible from Inchmore and its hospitality venues, introducing industrial infrastructure into a landscape valued for its tranquillity and scenic appeal. The development risks diminishing the visual amenity that underpins Inchmore’s hospitality offering and its role as a welcoming threshold to Highland exploration.
Kinerras
Kinerras is a broad upland ridge southwest of Kiltarlity, forming part of a traditional crofting community that stretches between the River Beauly and the hills of Boblainy Forest and iconic lochs of Neaty and Bruiach. The landscape is a patchwork of pasture, woodland, and rough moor, shaped by centuries of agricultural use and rich in prehistoric features— including cup-marked stones and Clava-type cairns that speak to long-standing human settlement. The area’s elevated position offers wide, open views across Strathglass and the mountains of Strathfarrar and Glen Affric, with clear vistas from most positions towards Beinn a’ Bhathaich Ard, reinforcing its visual sensitivity and scenic value.
Kinerras is not only a working landscape but a cultural one, where heritage and ecology intersect. Kinerras is home to around 30 residences and several holiday letting businesses which attract customers who seek country walks and stunning vistas. There is a Zen yoga and meditation studio where students attend weekly classes and workshops in the peaceful, natural environment.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would be visible from key locations within Kinerras, disrupting the skyline and fragmenting the visual coherence of this historic ridge. The development risks undermining the area’s amenity value, its archaeological significance, and its role as a living example of Highland crofting heritage.
South Kessock
South Kessock marks the northern edge of Inverness, where the River Ness meets the Beauly Firth, and is regarded the ‘gateway to the Northern Highlands’ . Historically a fishing village, the area retains a strong sense of place, with views across the firth and access to walking routes like the Merkinch Local Nature Reserve and the Caledonian Canal. For many visitors to Inverness, South Kessock offers informal dining and accommodation options, serving as a welcoming pause for travellers exploring the Highlands. Its walks along the canal and the shoreline are popular with locals and visitors alike.
Wireline analysis confirms that turbines from the Ballach wind farm would be visible from South Kessock’s waterfront and hospitality venues, disrupting the visual transition from urban edge to natural expanse. The development risks undermining the area’s role as a scenic gateway and first impression for visitors, where coastal calm and Highland hospitality converge.
heights
This ZTV production complies with the Nature.Scot/THC/ Landscape Institute practice for visualisations. Good GIS practice was employed (e.g. including earth curvature and rotation) to produce the ZTV using QGIS v3.4x software. The extent of the ZTV visually matches the one from the developer but needed to be recreated again
