Highland Council has agreed to retrospectively carry out risk assessments on wind turbines erected in school playgrounds after child safety concerns were raised this week.
The issue came up at Highland Council’s south area planning committee when they considered applications for turbines at a school in Inverness and Nairn. After hearing that the council doesn’t carry out site-specific risk assessments for the structures, councillors deferred making a decision until the assessments were carried out.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Highland Council said assessments of all turbines, including ones already installed, would now be undertaken.
She said: “Risk assessments are being reviewed for each turbine installation so that the council can improve on assessment, maintenance and upkeep.
“All installed turbines are being serviced over the Easter break.”
Inverness central councillor Donnie Kerr, who raised the safety concern after being contacted by members of the public, said he was happy steps are being taken.
He added: “I don’t think we should be considering any further applications until these assessments are completed. If a bairn was injured I would never be able to forgive myself.”
Castletown community councillor Brenda Herrick said she was “happy” to hear the risk assessments would be carried out, but it was only a small step to fixing the safety issues.
She said it was “a scandal” that the turbines were allowed to be built in the schools at all. “No school has the capacity to have a buffer zone big enough to keep children away from harm,” she said.
Landward Caithness councillor Robert Coghill, who expressed similar concern at a previous planning meeting, added: “The fact that children can play under these turbines is just unacceptable.”