SNP Government humiliated again after losing another court case as judges overturn approval of Borders wind farm plans

Judges at The Court of Sessions in Edinburgh branded the decision to approve planning permission 'irrational' as it handed the government its fifth defeat

The SNP Government has been humiliated again after losing another legal battle at Scotland's highest court.

Scottish ministers suffered a massive blow after top judges at the Court of Session overturned a controversial decision to green-light a massive wind farm in the Scottish Borders.

The ruling marks the fifth time the Scottish Government has been beaten in court in recent years, costing taxpayers thousands of pounds in legal fees. Ministers could also face a sixth defeat later this year over a challenge to the Scottish Prison Service's transgender guidelines.

The government's recent streak of legal defeats includes a ruling last year over the definition of a "woman" in the Equality Act, which judges determined referred to biological sex rather than gender identity.

Ministers also lost a 2023 battle regarding gender balance on public boards, a 2022 Supreme Court showdown over powers to legislate for a second independence referendum, and a 2021 case concerning the children's rights (UNCRC) and local government bills.

In this latest major victory for local campaigners, the Court of Session quashed permission for the Wull Muir Wind farm near Heriot; a project that had already been rejected on three previous occasions.

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The ruling is a significant setback for the Scottish executive and its national planning framework, which was fiercely criticised by community leaders for being "set up to grant permission no matter what communities say."

The dispute centred on plans by developer Energiekontor to build eight giant turbines, each standing 149.9 metres tall. The height was deliberately kept just below the 150-metre threshold that would legally require civil aviation warning lights.

Scottish Borders Council had already rejected the scheme twice due to its "significant visual impact" on the historic landscape of Eildon, and an initial appeal by the developer was dismissed.

However, in January 2025, a Scottish Government reporter overruled the local authority and approved the project, prompting furious residents to take the fight to the courts.

Energiekontor submitted a revised proposal that moved the turbines further back from the Lammermuirs/Moorfoot escarpment. However, this pushed the 149.9-metre structures significantly closer to a residential area known as Heriot Station.

The project faced a fierce backlash from local communities, the local landscape architect, and originally the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Ministry of Defence, though the latter two later dropped their objections subject to conditions.

John Williams, chair of Heriot Community Council, said: “We welcome the decision by the Court of Session Judges that this scheme should have been subject to greater scrutiny.

"Wull Muir would be visible for miles around and would completely change the character of the landscape. The wind farm would be far too close to the main part of Heriot village and so it would have very adverse effects on many local people.

"The fact that such extensive legal proceedings have been required to block this development causes us grave concern. With over 600 turbines already built in the Borders and more under review, it is clear that the planning framework is simply not fit for purpose.”

Scottish Borders councillors had previously ruled that the wind farm breached both National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and the local development plan due to its "significant adverse landscape and visual impacts."

Rory Steel, chair of the Lauderdale Preservation Group said: "This is a very welcome ruling because the judges have seen through the failure in the planning process.

"We constantly come up against developers who play fast and loose with the system because the Scottish Government's policy is set up to grant permission no matter what communities, and indeed experts, say.

"This should be a wake-up call to all energy developers in the Borders that they cannot ride roughshod over our communities and we cannot be taken for granted."

Lady Wise concluded her decision which was published on February 18: “We consider that there is force in the submission that the approach in this case was similarly irrational.