January 7, 2015
England

EDF Energy Renewables launch appeal after application for turbines at Bullington Cross turned down

Appeal lodged after controversial wind farm approved | 7 January 2015 | www.dailyecho.co.uk

An energy firm is to appeal against the refusal of planning permission for a proposed wind farm in Hampshire.

In June the planning committees of Winchester, Test Valley and Basingstoke and Deane councils turned down EDF Energy Renewables’ application for 14 turbines on farmland near Bullington Cross, north of Winchester.

Now the company has lodged an appeal with the Goverment.

A spokesman for EDF Energy Renewables said: “After due consideration and a review of the councils’ decision to turn down planning permission for the Bullington Cross scheme, we have decided to lodge an appeal with the Government’s Planning Inspectorate.

“We continue to believe the Bullington Cross site is an excellent location for the size of wind farm proposed. The project has high levels of local support and will make an important contribution to meet the country’s future, low carbon electricity needs.”

EDF Energy Renewables is committed to offering the local community a ten per cent share of the project through the local Hampshire Renewable Energy Co-operative.

The proposed 28MW wind farm at Bullington Cross would provide enough low carbon power to supply the average annual electricity demands of about 15,000 homes across the region.

Douglas Paterson, chairman of Keep Hampshire Green, described the decision as “disappointing”, adding that the site was “one of the worst sites in the country”.

n HAMPSHIRE campaigners are celebrating the decision by a renewable energy company to drop plans for a wind farm.

TCI Renewables had proposed building six turbines of up to 130m for 25 years on farmland at Woodmancott Down, north of Winchester.

But planners at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council rejected the application last June, saying it would harm the landscape. Now TCI has decided against appealing the decision.

Leading campaigner Jonathan Moseley, of SOS (Save our Scenic) Hampshire Downs, said: “We were very pleased to hear TCI were not going to launch an appeal.

“There were nine very strong reasons for refusal by the local planning authority and we feel that that was strong enough reasons for them not to even consider re-evaluating the situation should the next Government provide a more conducive environment for wind farms.”

Mr Moseley was referring to the growing antipathy to wind farms from the coalition Government. After the general election in May a new Government may take a different stance.

In a statement, TCI Renewables said: “TCI Renewables has decided not to lodge an appeal against the council’s decision taken in June last year to refuse planning permission for the proposed six wind turbine wind farm at Woodmancott Down.

“TCI Renewables still considers this to be a suitable site for a wind farm of the scale proposed and firmly believes that onshore wind farms continue to have a very important role to play in the UK’s future energy mix.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/01/07/edf-energy-renewables-launch-appeal-after-application-for-turbines-at-bullington-cross-turned-down/