At a meeting of Allerdale's Full Council on Wednesday 6th March, a question was raised by a member of the public concerning the payment of business rates on wind turbines. Evidence exists in the forms of emails from Allerdale's ratings office and also from the Valuations Office Agency which confirms that the Council has not been consistently fulfilling its duty to report approved wind turbines to the VOA in order that business rates can be levied where they are applicable.
Wind turbines which feed electricity into the National Grid as well as or instead of supplying the farm or premises where they are situated may incur business rates.
The most startling omission to date is Hellrigg Wind Farm consisting of four of the largest turbines in the county! No business rates had been paid in respect of Hellrigg since the turbines became operational at the end of 2011.
Cllr. Philip Tibble replied to the question on behalf of Allerdale Borough Council and confirmed that procedures have been changed and made more robust as a result of the question being raised. The owners of Hellrigg Wind Farm have been presented with a large backdated bill for business rates.
Evidence also exists, in the form of an email from one of Allerdale Borough Council's planning officers, which confirms that the developer who is proposing to erect three large scale wind turbines at Potato Pot was undercharged to the tune of £24,000 in planning fees! It is far from the first time that applicants for wind turbines have not been charged the correct amount.
Whilst it may be the case that the average wind speed in Allerdale is drawing big and small developers who want to make their contribution to the already turbine populated landscape, the question is:
Is Allerdale being made even more attractive to them by the undercharging of planning fees and the failure to apply business rates?
At the same meeting of the Full Council, the second draft of Allerdale's Local Development Plan was approved. The renewable energy section has been moved since the first draft and is now S19. The official consultation period on the new version is unlikely to commence until after the County Council elections on 2nd May. But if you would like to take an early look at the plan, it can be accessed as part of the agenda of the Full Council meeting via the following link:
The quickest way to the renewable energy section is to carry out a search for 'S19' although, of course, there may be other parts of the plan which are of interest to members. We are pleased to note that an 800m setback distance from turbines over 25m in height has been included. FORCE will be urging members to comment on the plan as soon as the beginning of the consultation period is announced.
In the meantime, as a direct result of the Council's refusal of a significant number of applications during the course of last year, the number of planning appeals currently lodged with the Inspectorate now stands at FIFTEEN!
One of the latest appeals is on the grounds of non determination of an application for a 62m turbine to be located at Wiggonby. The claim is that the Council has taken an unreasonably long time to decide the application despite the fact that the information on aviation safety which the developer has been asked to provide remains outstanding. In addition to this, the Council has only been offered a 'candidate turbine' to consider. The exact make and model of the turbine which would actually be used will only be confirmed just prior to construction. This renders requests from Allerdale's Environmental Health Officer for sight of the Manufacturer's Data Specification Sheet and Warranty of Sound Power levels totally superfluous! There is now a considerable amount of new wind energy development – operational, consented and proposed – in the area around Wiggonby and this particular turbine would also appear from many viewpoints as an 'extension' to the existing wind farm at Great Orton. Please add your comments to those of objectors living in this area which is filling up fast with wind turbines of all sizes!
Finally, a date for the diary. An appeal for three 100m turbines proposed at Potato Pot, Branthwaite, will be conducted by Public Inquiry on Tuesday 16th April. This is the grossly underpaid planning application mentioned earlier! It would be a major scheme which, if given the go-ahead, will no doubt attract yet more developers to this much beleaguered part of Allerdale. As with any Public Inquiry, it is essential to show the strength of opposition to the proposal simply by turning up to watch the proceedings. It isn't necessary to stay all day but if you can spare any time at all on 16th April, your presence will be much appreciated by local objectors whose amenity would be severely affected by these turbines. The Inquiry may last one day or longer. FORCE will publish more information as it becomes available. The venue has not yet been announced but is likely to be published in the local press nearer the time. FORCE will update Cumbria Wind Watch as well as this website with further details as they become known.
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