Controversial wind farm plan on the agenda
May 30 2009 by Ben Guy, The Journal
CONTROVERSIAL plans to erect wind turbines in an area that is already the subject of a public inquiry will go before councillors next week.
The plans, submitted by npower renewables, are for eight turbines close to Great Bavington, north of Hexham, in an area that is already awaiting the result of a triple inquiry into proposals to erect more than 50 turbines.
The application, first submitted late last year, has caused anger among residents, and is also opposed by Bavington, Birtley and Kirkwhelpington parish councils, Newcastle Airport and the Ministry of Defence.
Karen Archbold lives in Great Bavington, and is a member the Campaign for Responsible Energy Development in Tynedale group, which is fighting the plans.
She said: “It is absolutely preposterous that npower should have chosen to lodge an application before the end of the inquiry.
“The inspector can only consider those applications that are put on the table in front of him. How can the authority [Northumberland County Council] make any sort of decision without knowing the outcome of the inquiry.
“The other thing is that it just demonstrates what a nonsense the whole thing has become. It is just a race to get the applications on the table, irrespective of the situation locally. For them it is about the money and the subsidies – it is just greed. It has caused five years of planning blight in this area.”
The development would include two clusters of four 125m turbines together with the construction of a network of permanent access tracks and a substation for each cluster.
The plans will be considered by the Northumberland County Council planning and environment committee on June 2, with members set to take part in a visit to the site.
The meeting’s agenda also proposes the arrangement of a public meeting to discuss the plans and their impact.
Trevor Thorne, chairman of the planning and environment committee, said: “On the agenda for next week’s meeting we have four proposals for site visits. Really it is to ensure that nothing is missed out, that the process is as thorough as it can be and everybody has their say. There is nothing like site visit as it puts it into perspective.”
Richard Best, developer at npower renewables said: “We are confident that the eight turbine Kirkharle Wind Farm scheme is suitable for the location and the site lies within a region classified as being a broad area of least constraint that offers the greatest potential for new renewables developments’ within the North East Assembly’s Regional Spatial Strategy. The site also benefits from good wind speed, access to the electricity grid and does not have any landscape designations. If consented, Kirkharle Wind Farm would make a vital contribution to UK targets for renewable energy.”
:: For previous stories about the issue, go to www.journallive.co.uk/windfarms
