Re-think after wind farm plan rejected
Battle lines for a possible appeal were already being drawn after the IW Council ““ as expected ““ threw out the Wellow Wind Farm planning application last night (Monday).
Generator Your Energy has three months to decide whether to appeal against the decision to government, whether to re-submit, or scale down its application.
The company said only that it was disappointed and was considering its options.
The unanimous decision was greeted with jubilation by The Wight Against Rural Turbines (ThWART) and most Wellow residents, but with gloom by renewable energy supporters.
The decision came on the day of release of the Stern Report, which says that if worldwide action was taken now against carbon emissions it would cost a fraction of fighting the effects of global warming if the situation was allowed to get worse.
That call for action was backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair, but at Newport’s Medina Theatre last night an audience of 300 saw the development control committee decide against the application after three hours.
Councillors underlined their support for wind energy but said Wellow was the wrong place, citing comprehensive landscape reasons for refusal put forward by consultants and by officers.
ThWART spokesman Ray Tucker said after the decision “The battle may not be over yet but we will fight any appeal with all the skills and determination we have so far demonstrated.”
By Richard Wright
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Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
