It has been quite a year here in Allerdale with the total number of wind energy applications finally topping 110! This figure does of course include requests for screening opinions – many of which have gone on to become full applications.
It is good to be able to end the year on a positive note. Last Tuesday at the December meeting of the Development Panel which, councillors voted to refuse two applications for single turbines, one of 67m and one of 47m both in the Crookdake area. The impact on landscape, local amenity and wildlife would have been completely unacceptable. With the number of turbines already operational or consented in the immediate and wider area, the addition of these two would have added considerably to the cumulative effect of wind energy in this part of the Borough. Congratulations to everyone who spoke against these two highly inappropriate applications and helped to achieve this gratifying result.
Inevitably we are now witnessing attempts by several developers and agents to overturn the Council's decision on a number of this year's applications. There are currently four appeals waiting to be determined by the Planning Inspectorate. It is easy to assume at this stage that any gains we have made will be lost and that the Inspector will reverse the Council's decision but this is not necessarily so. Inspector David Rose dismissed an appeal last year stating that in the case of Broughton Lodge,
'…the proposed wind turbines would combine with others in the locality and tip the balance from a landscape with wind farms to a landscape with wind turbines as a defining and dominant element…'
He added that
'…each approval adds to the cumulative baseline.'
That is the sort of decision we have been waiting for! Tallentire Wind Farm is currently under construction and there are many other wind turbines, including the three at Westnewton, already consented and waiting to be built. There are also many live applications at various stages in the planning system. The claim that our landscape is now beginning to suffer the adverse effects of the accumulation of wind energy development is a perfectly valid one.
If you haven't already done so, please help us round off this year's achievements by writing a line or two to the Inspector either to reiterate your original objection or to draw his/her attention to the vast amount of onshore wind energy development already accommodated in this part of Cumbria. This will only take a few minutes and can easily be done by visiting the following webpage:
To find a particular case, you need nothing more than a seven digit reference number. The address and other details are not required. The relevant reference numbers are set out below:
Oughterby wind turbine 2183244
Tarns Farm 2185119
Flatt Farm 2187146
(the above landowner has a separate live application for a further turbine under Carlisle City Council's planning jurisdiction!)
Ewanrigg 2187194
Once you have entered the reference number, you will simply need to follow the links to the page where you can leave a comment. It is a quick and easy process but, if you haven't time to comment on all of these appeals, a response to just one of them is still worthwhile and could well make all the difference to the eventual outcome. It is very important that we demonstrate to the Inspectorate that we are prepared to pursue these inappropriate applications to their conclusion and that many of us now believe that this area cannot continue to be developed in the way it has been until now.
Should you happen to be in Carlisle any day from next Wednesday 19th and fancy a break from jostling with the Christmas shoppers, you may wish to drop in at the Civic Centre and spend some time at the Public Inquiry into the Hallburn and Beck Burn Wind Farm applications. Following the Inspector's site visits, the prodeedings are set to continue on that day. Objectors who have put an enormous amount of effort into fighting these proposals would very much appreciate your support which you can show just by being present even if only for an hour or so. It is another way of showing the Inspectorate that lots of us care very much about what is happening and that his decision is important to the people who live here.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members for the help and support we have received over this rollercoaster of a year! We hope that 2013 will be a little quieter but are ready for whatever is in store.
Merry Christmas to you all and Happy New Year!
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