September 18, 2020
England

Wind farm will stay until 2030

By Gareth Cavanagh, Reporter | News & Star | www.newsandstar.co.uk

Turbines will remain at Park House Farm in Whitehaven until 2030 after a meeting of Copeland Borough Council’s planning committee.

Plans to build seven wind turbines at Park House Farm in Whitehaven, were originally approved in March 2000.

The original plans carried the condition that the provision would be in place until 2020.

However, a meeting of Copeland Borough Council’s planning committee held on Wednesday passed an amendment to the conditions, extending the wind farm’s operational life until March 2030.

The application was put forward by Cannock Wind Farm Services Limited.

Councillors of the planning committee were unanimously in favour of approving the extension, agreeing with the advice of Copeland borough council’s planning officers.

There were no objections to the application in the pre-meeting report from the council’s conservation officer, The Lake District National Park Authority or Historic England as no changes to the physical appearance of the wind turbines were involved.

The committee’s deputy chairperson Doug Wilson said: “I don’t relish seeing more wind turbines out at sea.”

But he said: “You have to look at the overall benefit for Copeland.”

The planning panel received posted objections against turbines in general but there were no spoken objections at the meeting.

Mr Wilson said: “We need to conserve what we’ve got already, if it can be sustained we should be doing it.”

He said: “The population isn’t getting any smaller and people working from home will increase demand.

“We don’t have the benefit of being able to take into account people’s feelings. You have to look at it purely objectively.”

In their comments on the application, Friends of the Lake District said: “We would like to see a condition placed on any planning permission that habitat management is undertaken during the next 10 years of the life of the windfarm to ensure that existing habitat is maintained and enhanced for the species that use it.

“This is in line with the Government’s requirement in the Environment Bill for developers to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain on or near development sites.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/09/18/wind-farm-will-stay-until-2030/