August 30, 2012
Wales

Anglesey wind turbine buffer zone ‘not enough’

Published by: Tomos Hughes | North Wales Chronicle | www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk 30 August 2012

Campaigners have hit out at Anglesey Council’s latest wind turbine buffer zone proposals.

Anglesey Against Wind Turbines (AAWT) has criticised amendments made by the authority to their planning guidance for on-shore energy which says where turbines can be built.

The council is looking at a policy where turbines must be placed at least 10 times their height away from other buildings, but wind turbine campaigners say the policy could threaten tourism.

AAWT’s Owain Evans said: “As a group, we think they’ve taken a step back with this.

“They set 2km as a buffer zone in Europe, but the 10x rule is just not enough. We are part of Europe, so why do we have to settle for the bare minimum here?

“It’s going to destroy Anglesey and Gwynedd. We’re so dependent on tourism, and with the weather we’ve had over summer, if we have any other factors damaging the industry, tourism could be destroyed on Anglesey.”

Anglesey Council has submitted the draft proposal of the Supplementary Planning Guidance for an eight-week consultation period, where residents of the island can have their say.

Cllr Robert Lloyd Hughes, shadow executive portfolio holder for planning, said: “This is an important consultation process as regards onshore wind energy which will have a significant bearing on future development of wind turbines on the Island.”

Details are available on the consultations page of the council’s website, www.anglesey.gov.uk, as well as the council’s offices in Llangefni and libraries across Anglesey.

The eight-week period comes to an end on Thursday, October 11.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/30/anglesey-wind-turbine-buffer-zone-not-enough/