June 4, 2011
England

Windfarm plan withdrawn

Morpeth Herald, www.morpethherald.co.uk 4 June 2011

A bid for a controversial windfarm in rural Northumberland has been withdrawn.

Renewable Energy Systems (RES) had applied for nine wind turbines near Wingates, which was vehemently opposed by local residents.

A public inquiry before a planning inspector was due to start on June 29, but it will no longer take place after the company’s request to postpone it for further assessments to be undertaken was refused by the Planning Inspectorate.

As a result, on Tuesday it withdrew its application for the Park Head site entirely, although it has not ruled out submitting a revised scheme.

The news has been welcomed by local campaigners, including Netherwitton resident Anne-Marie Trevelyan who has worked alongside the Wingates not Windfarms campaign team to oppose the development.

She said: “I am thrilled that the hard work of local people opposed to this development has paid off.

“It is testament to the power of local people to take control of their lives and say ‘no’ to overbearing multinationals in search of profit.

“However, RES may at some point decide to renew an application, so we will remain vigilant to future developments.”

Wingates residents are still preparing to face a smaller windfarm after the application by Infinis (Novera) for six turbines was approved by the county council committee in April.

An RES spokesman said: “Following the consent of Wingates Windfarm (the Infinis bid), we requested an adjournment for the Park Head Windfarm Public Inquiry.

“We requested to postpone the inquiry for a short time to allow for some further assessments to be undertaken. We felt a postponement was wholly appropriate in the circumstances and as it was refused we decided that our only effective option was to withdraw at this particular time. We are currently considering our options for submitting a revised scheme.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/06/04/windfarm-plan-withdrawn/