March 10, 2012
England

Developers shunned as government body dismisses Bicton windfarm appeal

Hunts Post, www.huntspost.co.uk 9 March 2012

The Government’s Planning Inspectorate today (Friday) dismissed an appeal by Broadview Energy to build four 125m wind-turbines on a site which lies about 1.5-miles from Kimbolton.

Last year Huntingdon District Council (HDC) unanimously rejected the proposal because it contravened important local and national planning policy with regards to visual landscape and damage to the rich cultural heritage found within 2 km of the scheme.

An appeal by Broadview Energy against this decision lead to a public inquiry which ended in January this year.

In dismissing the appeal, the Inspector concluded that:

“The sensitive character of this valley landscape would be seriously adversely affected, the enjoyment of the attractive valley landscape impaired and the settings of important heritage assets significantly harmed.”

Founding Chairman of SBWF Richard Murphy and current Chairman Martin Patterson said: “We are both delighted by this result.

“It has vindicated HDC’s own planning guidance that developers should ‘avoid locating turbines within the more intimate landscape of the valleys and along valley crests where they will be out of scale with the landscape and settlements such as Kimbolton,’ and has found, as we have always maintained, that the harm of this development would outweigh any benefits.

“There are many people to thank and this result would not have been possible without the support of the Parish & District Councils & MPs Shailesh Vara and Jonathan Djanogly.

“But thanks most of all goes local residents who selflessly gave time, energy and money to highlight the inappropriate nature of this planned development.”

For further information on SBWF contact 01480 860530 or 07768 891264


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/10/developers-shunned-as-government-body-dismisses-bicton-windfarm-appeal/