Planners change minds on turbines
Councillors have withdrawn three of their four objections to plans for a wind farm in Northumberland.
Members of Berwick Borough Council Planning Committee have unanimously agreed to amend their views on a proposal to erect turbines at Wandylaw, near Chathill, after the release of the Regional Spatial Strategy, drawn up by the North East Assembly to set out future land use.
One objection remains – about the effect of turbines on the air defence radar at RAF Brizlee Wood, Alnwick.
RidgeWind Ltd wants to build 10 turbines at Wandylaw.
The council refused the application last October by eight votes to two on the basis it would harm the landscape and tourism and because of Ministry of Defence concern about Brizlee Wood. An appeal was submitted and a public inquiry is to open in Berwick on September 16.
But at a committee meeting in Berwick on Thursday, members were advised by barrister Colin Crawford that three of their original reasons for refusing the planning application had been weakened by changes to the spatial strategy document.
The Secretary of State’s recent decision to allow a wind farm to go ahead at Middlemoor, near the Wandylaw site, also prompted members to reconsider. Their original reasons for the refusal, now dropped, were: the impact the development would have on the character of the landscape; its visual and cumulative impact in the area, including the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Northumberland National Park, and the adverse effect it would have on tourism and the local economy.
Very similar objections were considered at the Middlemoor inquiry and discounted by the inspector.
Members agreed to maintain their objection to the effects on radar, but said the council could not provide evidence on that and the MoD would have to make the case at the inquiry.
Coun Richard Patterson, who chaired the planning committee meeting, said “This was a very difficult decision for members to make.
“When we made our original decision to refuse the Wandylaw application last October, we thought that we had a very strong case.
“However, this has now changed, particularly now that we have the finalised regional spatial strategy and also the Secretary of State’s decision on the Midddlemoor inquiry.
“We have therefore had to concede that there is now no point in the council being represented as a formal objector at the forthcoming public inquiry.”
North Northumberland representative for The Campaign to Protect Rural England, Dominic Coupe, said: “Certainly more than one member used the word ‘reluctantly’ while voting to lose those three objections.
“It would be my gut feeling that they don’t want it. They have been backed into a corner by the recently issued regional spatial strategy.
“You would end up with 28 turbines on a relatively small patch of ground wedged between the area of national beauty and the national park. The landscape would be dominated by huge industrial structures taller than any structure between London and Edinburgh.”
By Aranda Garrard
6 September 2008
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