Inspector urged to scrap ‘speculative’ turbine proposals
Proposals for wind turbine developments were branded as purely commercial and speculative during the final day of evidence at a public inquiry.
The hearing into the schemes to build four turbines up to 100m high at Bickham Moor, near Oakford, and nine up to 105m high at Three Moors, Knowstone, was launched after developers Airtricity Ltd and Coronation Power appealed after North and Mid Devon district councils failed to decide on planning applications within a statutory timeframe.
Knowstone resident Richard Delf asked inspector Philip Major last Tuesday to dismiss the appeals, saying the Bickham Moor scheme “showed all the signs of having been cobbled together without any appreciation of the impact on the environment and local residents”.
The Three Moors scheme, he argued, was attempting to squeeze too many turbines onto a reduced plot of land, to maximise the financial return to Airtricity.
David Cocks QC, appearing for opposition group the Rural Exmoor Alliance, told the inquiry there was an unusual number of uncertainties in the case.
He asked: “How much noise will the turbines make? How much are we saving on emissions? The answers are no more than educated guesswork.”
Mr Cocks also questioned the amount of electricity that the turbines would produce.
Peter Wadsley, solicitor for Mid Devon District Council, said the authority believed the turbines would be at odds with the rural setting.
“These large, moving, industrial structures do not blend into the landscape but impose themselves on it,” he said.
The applicants had stressed the need for schemes such as these to help the Government meet renewable energy targets, but Mr Wadsley said the planning process still had to be adhered to.
“Applications made by developers should be in appropriate places, the council says this has not been done,” he said.
“If the council only receives applications which are sited in areas which are not appropriate, it follows that targets are unlikely to be met, but that is not the fault of the system or the council.”
William Morris QC outlined how Coronation Power had come to choose its site.
He said national and international policy was clear on the importance of moving towards reducing carbon emissions.
While Bickham was a relatively small project, it was nonetheless an important one, he said, adding that it was 6.5km, from Exmoor.
The inspector will consider the evidence before reporting in the New Year.
The Herald
3 December 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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