October 9, 2012
England

Call for councillors to be given the ‘big picture’ on turbine proposals

Yorkshire Post | www.yorkshirepost.co.uk 9 October 2012

Councillors should be given a detailed map showing the location of all wind-farms when making decisions on new proposals, campaigners have said.

East Yorkshire has had the highest number of planning applications for large onshore wind developments in the country over the past decade and numerous others for smaller turbines in ones or twos on farms.

But campaigners say that councillors who authorise these developments are not being given enough information because they are not given a map showing all the turbines’ locations.

Campaigner David Hinde said: “The strategic planning committee deals with turbines more than 50m high, but they are not provided with information about turbines that are 20m, 30m or 40m high and have already been approved.

“As more and more of these things are erected the cumulative impact on the area is increasing. It is not acceptable that councillors are kept in the dark.”

In recent correspondence over a turbine at Rudston the Ministry of Defence said: “They were more concerned about levels of turbine proliferation in this area than we were towards the start of this year.”

Coun Chad Chadwick raised the issue of having a map with dots at a recent planning meeting. He said: “It does make it easier if you have a lot in one area. There is nothing like going and having a look – we’d love to do that on every application – but unfortunately time doesn’t allow you.”

East Riding Council said they were considering the request. Pete Ashcroft, head of planning and development management, said their reports gave a “full and objective” assessment, and plans attached to reports “do not provide any reliable basis for the assessment of the individual or cumulative impact of wind turbines on the landscape”.

He added: “This is best done by a site visit to the area, which is what committee members are encouraged to do. Such plans have severe limitations as they do not reflect the topography in the vicinity of any proposal, which can have a significant effect on their individual or cumulative impacts on the landscape.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/09/call-for-councillors-to-be-given-the-big-picture-on-turbine-proposals/