October 5, 2012
England

Orby planning inquiry to resume

Skegness Standard | 5 October 2012 | www.skegnessstandard.co.uk

A public inquiry into a contentious wind farm planning application resumes next week after procedural errors halted the initial July meeting, incurring substantial taxpayers costs.

Landowner Mark Caudwell’s proposals to build eight turbines at Orby Marsh will be discussed from 10am on Tuesday at Hogsthorpe Village Hall.

The planning inspector will hear evidence from the applicant, Orby Wind Farm Action Group (OWAG) and interested members of the public, who may speak at 7pm on Tuesday, October 16, if they register on the opening day.

OWAG chairman Melvin Grosvenor said: “We are confident that we’ve put a good team together and we will present our evidence as robustly as possible as it is crucial to the whole of Lincolnshire that this application is dismissed on appeal.

“I have been involved with numerous wind farm opposition groups and Orby is the central key to the whole project which links everything together.

“We are at the cusp of a battle for the very character and lifeblood of the Lincolnshire landscape and I would urge as many people as possible attend the first day to show solidarity and support to the OWAG team.”

Lincolnshire County Council will also be presenting evidence in line with its newly adopted position in opposition of wind farms. It fears the county is being harmed by the ‘industrial scale development’ of wind farms.

Mr Caudwell, speaking after the premature closure of July’s inquiry also said he was ‘confident’ that his application would be approved. He had substantially scaled down the number and height of turbines to avert Ministry of Defence objections to previous applications, after the MoD raised fears that the taller turbines might interfere with radar at RAF Conningsby.

Both OWAG and Mr Caudwell have said they would be making an application for the costs incurred by East Lindsey District Council’s procedural errors, which forced the early closure of July’s inquiry.

Mr Grosvenor added: “We must have these costs recovered. This is money from the local community, who have already lost a substantial amount of cash fighting this application over the past 10 years.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/05/orby-planning-inquiry-to-resume/