Rethink call on turbine areas
Wind developers are to be told parts of the region are off limits after an independent study called for a turbine rethink.
Experts have looked at land identified in Government planning documents as suitable for more wind farms and decided that instead of allowing turbines in some parts of Durham, officers should instead be opposing any further plans.
Now any officer checking a turbine application with the region’s planning body, as they are required to do, is likely to be told that parts of East Durham have had enough.
The North East Assembly (NEA) commissioned Arup to look at land from Durham down towards the Tees Valley following growing concern that the overall impact of many individual turbine applications presented a threat to the landscape.
The Assembly was told by council officers that they felt powerless to consider the cumulative impact of turbines across the county, prompting the NEA to commission Ove Arup and Partners to carry out the study.
Their findings will be welcome news to residents facing the prospect of 100-metre high turbines ruining views unspoilt in centuries.
The report found that, despite the Government indicating the area was suitable for development, East Durham “is largely full at present” and questioned the reason for the Government continuing to describe the land as suitable for medium size wind farms.
It adds that “opportunity for development appears very limited”.
Back in 2005 the no-go areas were included as an “area of least constraint” in a regional planning policy which would have given the green light to developers looking to increase renewable energy production.
Since that document – the Regional Spatial Strategy – was put together the Assembly has looked again at Durham and decided they did not take into account the number of wind farms that households could cope with.
A spokeswoman for the NEA said the Assembly would use the report in its role as a statutory consultee in planning decisions and would be likely to recommend refusing permission in the study areas. Across Easington and Durham a growing group of concerned residents have been calling for councils to start considering the cumulative impact of the turbines.
Martin Bulmer, of the Stop Turbines Organised Protest group, is one of the residents on the outskirts of Seaham who are opposed to plans to build four turbines on land at South Sharpley Farm. They would be within a few hundred yards of two others already in place at High Sharpley.
Last night he welcomed the report as a step in the right direction. Mr Bulmer said: “It is really good news. We are a little cautious, because there are some finer details we would like to get confirmed. But in theory at least this is a very welcome report, and it is about time we had this level of support.”
By Adrian Pearson
8 August 2008
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's effort to advance understanding of the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development. For more information, click here.
Blog it:
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
