March 3, 2012
U.K.

Locals ‘need bigger say over wind farms’

Kate Devlin, UK Political Correspondent, The Herald, www.heraldscotland.com 1 March 2012

The views of local people should hold greater sway over wind farm developments, the Prime Minister has suggested.

David Cameron indicated he believes that the reaction of communities close to such projects are not taken into account enough when decisions were taken.

It comes as villagers in the west coast of Scotland have angrily protested the prospect of housing the UK’s tallest wind turbines.

Residents of the Firth Of Clyde have claimed that the new development could infringe their human rights.

North Ayrshire Council has given planning permission to SSE to build what is being described as Scotland’s first offshore wind turbine testing site. Although it initially is planned to have a lifespan of just five years locals are concerned that it could eventually become permanent and have vowed to consider taking the entire project to court.

The Prime Minister is also facing a backbench rebellion from the right of his party over wind turbines.

Last month more than 100 of his own MPs wrote to the Conservative leader to protest and call for subsidies for onshore wind farms to be cut.

Mr Cameron told MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions that his Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition was determined to give local people a “greater say” over issues like wind farms.

But he also backed the technology, saying that they had to be part of the mix of a future energy programme.

He has previously described his concerns about local input into sites as “particularly sensitive”.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/03/locals-need-bigger-say-over-wind-farms/