October 26, 2017
England

Wind farm falls foul of cumulative harms to character and heritage

Planning Resource | 25 October 2017 | www.planningresource.co.uk

A wind farm in Lincolnshire has been refused, in a recovered appeal by the secretary of state for his own determination, for cumulative harms to the character of the area and heritage assets outweighing the benefits of the 17.5 megawatt power generation.

The secretary of state agreed with his inspector that the main issues related to the impact of the seven, 115-metre-high turbines in open farmland on the visual appearance and character of the area and on the setting of the many heritage assets nearby. The nearest settlements were between one and two and a half kilometres away.

The secretary of state agreed with his inspector that the local plan was silent on the issue of renewable energy and therefore paragraph 14 of the NPPF was engaged in this aspect. He also agreed that the cumulative harms to the setting of the heritage assets, including many listed buildings and deserted villages nearby, did not outweigh the public benefits of the scheme to energy generation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This meant that the second limb of paragraph 14 relating to specific policies was not engaged.

However, the secretary of state did agree that the cumulative harms relating to impact on the character of the landscape and visual impact of the seven turbines from short and distant views were significant and when coupled with the less than substantial cumulative harms to the heritage assets, resulted in an overall conclusion of adverse harms outweighing the benefits in relation to the first limb of paragraph 14.

Inspector: Jessica Graham; Inquiry

DCs Number: 200-006-961

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/10/26/wind-farm-falls-foul-of-cumulative-harms-to-character-and-heritage/