WIND farm developers are hoping a fresh bid for a site near Ashkirk will fly beneath the radar this time.

An initial application for Barrel Law was turned down by Scottish Borders Council due to fears the eight turbines would interfere with RAF detection systems.

The Ministry of Defence's objection on grounds of possible interference with radar at RAF Spadeadam and seismic monitoring at Eskdalemuir was upheld by planners.

An appeal by ABO Wind UK was later turned down by the Scottish government.

The developer has now returned with another application for the site, which lies four miles south west of Ashkirk and just over two miles north-west of Roberton.

The seven proposed turbines have a total generation capacity of up to 24.5 Megawatts (MW) and a blade tip height of up to 132 metres.

Clark Crosbie, head of development for ABO Wind UK said: “The site is located well outside the area being discussed for a proposed Borders National Park.

"In addition, the site has good wind resource, a readily available electricity grid connection and is relatively isolated from houses."

In their application ABO Wind state that the fresh application differs from the original, with the number of turbines reduced from eight to seven and the turbine cluster being moved further north towards Langhope Rig Wind Farm.

The planning application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement reporting the detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken which assesses the potential effects of the wind farm including on landscape and visual amenity, ornithology, ecology, traffic, cultural heritage, geology, hydrology, tourism and recreation.

Planners will consider the application over the coming months.