Ecotricity calls for national planning structure for onshore wind
Friday 03 July 2009
Wind farm developer Ecotricity has called for a national system of planning for onshore wind farms, after district councillors turned down one of its developments against planners' advice.
The application for the proposed 12MW Silton wind farm near Gillingham in Dorset was unanimously rejected yesterday (July 2) by councillors at North Dorset district council.
Gordon Brown needs to get to grips with this
Ecotricity said in statement that it was "disappointed, but not surprised" at the decision and said it intended to appeal.
It called for the responsibility of planning for wind farms to be taken away from local authorities, labelling them "unfit for the job".
The Gloucestershire firm said yesterday: "We will now have to take this to the government for a second opinion, via an appeal. That's where the decision needs to be taken from the start, to save a lot of time and hassle and speed up our response to climate change."
It added: "Gordon Brown needs to get to grips with this. Every week we hear of a new target being set or adopted for onshore wind energy - there's no chance of hitting any of them until the government ends the absurd anomaly of wind energy being the only energy source in the UK that gets its planning consent from local councils."
Refusal
A council spokeswoman told New Energy Focus today that the primary reasons for the refusal were the visual impact of the turbines on nearby clay vales and limestone ridges, the possibility of noise pollution at nearby houses and the fact that Ecotricity failed to provide one year's worth of wind data for the site.
But the councillors' decision flies in the face of the council's own planners, who had recommended the wind farm plans for approval.
According to Ecotricity, North Dorset district council took eight months longer to make the decision that it originally agreed, and it accused councillors of bowing to pressure from local residents after the Save Our Silton campaign claimed the wind farm would pose health risks and damage the local economy.
The decision to ignore planners' recommendations, said the developer, showed "once again that local councils are just not capable of making these decisions".
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