Councils’ wind farm views set to be blown away
Sep 1 2008 by Brian Daniel, The Journal
COUNCIL bosses could be forced to withdraw their objections to a planned wind farm.
Berwick Borough Council had intended to try to block a proposal to erect turbines at Wandylaw, near Chathill. But the council could decide to withdraw its objection less than a fortnight ahead of a public inquiry.
RidgeWind Ltd wants to build 10 turbines at the site. But the council refused the application last October by eight votes to two on the basis it would harm the landscape and tourism and because of Ministry of Defence (MoD) concerns over the impact of the turbines on the air defence radar at nearby RAF Brizlee Wood.
An appeal was submitted and a public inquiry is to begin in Berwick on September 16. But the government’s decision last month to approve plans for turbines at nearby Middlemoor has led council officers to ask members to consider whether they still want to oppose the Wandylaw scheme at the inquiry.
Middlemoor had faced similar objections to Wandylaw, yet a government planning inspector felt it could be approved as long as a solution was found to mitigate the turbines’ effect on the Brizlee radar.
The inspector deemed landscape objections were outweighed by the scheme’s renewable energy benefits, while tourism was not found to be a valid objection.
The committee, which received legal advice on the issues at a behind-closed-doors meeting last week, will be told that if it still wants to object to Wandylaw, it must state why it is not accepting the reasoning of the inspector and the government in relation to Middlemoor. If it does not present evidence to justify refusal – with the authority having previously relied on the MoD’s stance on the radar issue – it will be more likely to be forced to pay the appellant’s costs.
Last night, a spokesman for the department of communities and local government said the inquiry would go ahead even if the council ends its opposition, unless RidgeWind withdraws its appeal. He said the company could ask to have its application considered again by the council, although it would be expected to seek assurances from the authority that it would be approved before doing so. RidgeWind could not be contacted for comment.
Should the council withdraw and the inquiry still go ahead, there will be still be opposition to the scheme, with the MoD still expected to object along with campaign group Save Northumberland’s Environment.
Group chairman Nick Blezard last night said: “We would still hope that they will maintain their objection and maintain a strong appearance at the inquiry. If they decided to withdraw, they are very late in doing so and the inspector might have something to say about that.”
Click the links below to read previous stories about Wandylaw and Middlemoor wind turbine applications
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