March 31, 2008
England
England
Campaigners battling plans for a wind farm in countryside near Sheffield are now relying on the Government to turn it down.
Plans for the three 95m wind turbines on land at Loscar Farm, Harthill, will now be considered by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The plans have already been considered by Rotherham Council, which has indicated that if the Govern-ment decides not to intervene it is likely to approve the proposals.
The Department has 28 days to decide if there should be a pubic inquiry into the wind farm scheme, or pass it back to the council for a final decision.
Harthill Action Group chairman Dave Bentley said: “Of course we are bitterly disappointed because we have fought a hard battle to save a beautiful piece of countryside. Our main concern in that this could open the floodgates to a rash of wind farm applications.”
Plans for the controversial turbines were first drawn up in 2004, but were put on hold when the original applicant, npower.Renewables was bought out by Cornwall Wind and Power. The proposal was revived again last year.
Bob Morgan, Cornwall Light and Power development manager, said: “We firmly believe our proposals would be good news for the community and would represent a positive step in reducing the area’s dependency on fossil fuels.”
By Ray Parkin
31 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/31/protesters-hope-on-wind-farm-plan/