August 4, 2015
England

Nocton wind farm ‘blown away’ by Government law change

Sleaford Standard | 03 August 2015 | www.sleafordstandard.co.uk

Swedish energy company Vattenfall has pulled the plug on plans for 23 turbines at Nocton Fen following a Government pledge to give communities the final say on wind farm applications.

Graham Davey, Vattenfall’s project manager for Nocton Fen, said: “It’s obviously disappointing to stop development of Nocton Fen as it would have delivered significant benefit locally and generated affordable, clean and renewable energy for tens of thousands of homes every year.

“It was clear that proposed changes to onshore wind planning (law) in England introduced increased risk in the process.

“Stopping the scheme now is a sensible decision.”

North Kesteven District Council leader Marion Brighton welcomed Vattenfall’s decision and prompt announcement

She said: “This was a significant project in terms of its scale and nature, and we were very conscious of its potential effects on the local area and of the concerns expressed by local communities during pre-application consultations.

“We fully understood the concerns of local residents and those of other agencies in respect of these proposals and, jointly with neighbouring authorities, engaged a planning and environmental consultancy to ensure that local impacts associated with the development were fully considered.

“I feel that their proposals would have been unreasonably intrusive in terms of the landscape, character and amenity of local communities and I am sure that this decision not to proceed will be of significant comfort in bringing clarity on Vattenfall’s position in light of the Government’s recent policy announcements.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/08/04/nocton-wind-farm-blown-away-by-government-law-change/