Kirkby Moor Wind Farm 5
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SL/2017/0687 PARISH: Kirkby Ireleth Kirkby Moor Windfarm, Kirkby Moor and Lowick High Common PROPOSAL: Variation of condition no 6 attached to planning permission 5/90/2312 (erection of 15 wind turbines and construction of access ways) to vary the temporary time condition to allow retention of turbines until 31 March 2027, followed by one year to carry out decommissioning works APPLICANT: Zephyr Investments Ltd Grid Ref: E: 325250 N: 483500 Gawthwaite Moor Birk Knotts Kirkby Moor Lowick High Common Kirkby Slate Quarries Keldray Moor Spoil Heap Groffa Crag Scars Old Crow Brow Quarry (disused) Lowick High Common Kirkby Moor Hawkswell Bracken Plot Kirkby Moor Cocklakes Winnow s g i g R t n ru B Moor House Breast Long Moor Kirkby Moor Kirkby Moor Gunson Height Osmotherley Moor Horse Head " SL/2017/0687 The material contained in this plot has been reproduced from an Ordnance Survey map with permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Kirkby Moor Windfarm Licence o. 100024277 & Crown Copyright Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright Kirkby Moor and and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings Lowick High Common Grizebeck ULVERSTON Scale: Not to scale SUMMARY 1. Planning application made under Section 73 of the Act to vary the end date of planning permission 5/90/2312 from 26 August 2018 to 31 March 2027, with a further year to carry out decommissioning works. The application aims to extend the life of the current permission for a further 8½ years. The main issues arising from the proposal include: • Visual and landscape impact, including cumulative impacts and impacts upon the setting of the Lake District National Park designated as a World Heritage Site. • Residential amenity impacts. • Impacts upon ecology and in particular the Kirkby Moor SSSI. • Impacts upon tourism, recreation and the local economy. • Impacts upon the setting of designated Heritage Assets and archaeological interests. • Impacts upon communication networks, in particular the Ministry of Defence air traffic control radar. • Whether the planning impacts identified by affected local communities have been addressed. RECOMMENDATION 2. That the application to vary conditions to extend the life of the windfarm is granted. DESCRIPTION AND PROPOSAL Site description 3. The site comprises an upland area of moor directly to the east of Kirkby Slate Quarry, known as Kirkby Moor and Lowick High Common. It is positioned at the southern edge of the Cumbrian Mountains just beyond the southern boundary of the Lake District National Park, with the northern most proposed turbine lying just over 1km to the south of the National Park boundary. 4. The application site is located approximately 5 km to the north-west of Ulverston. The village of Grizebeck lies approximately 2 km to the north-west, Kirkby in Furness lies approximately 2 km to the southwest, and Broughton Beck lies approximately 2 km to the east of the site. 5. The nearest hamlets and villages are located in the low lying land on either side of the moor. To the east of the moor these include Gawthwaite, Broughton Beck and Netherhouses whilst to the west of the moor these include Grizebeck, Chapels, Beck Side and Kirkby in Furness. The nearest residential properties to the site are located at Moor House Farm, Groffa Cragg to the east, Croglin Farm and Cop Cross to the west and Friars Ground and High Ghyll Farm to the south-west, which are within 1km of the existing turbines. 6. The primary highway routes immediately surrounding the Kirkby Moor site are the A5092 which crosses Gawthwaite Moss approximately 1km north of the site, and the A595 which runs along the eastern side of the Duddon Estuary through Kirkby in Furness. 7. Kirkby Slate Quarry extends for approximately 1.5 km along the north-western slopes of Kirkby Moor. The quarry has been granted various permissions to be extended. Access to the existing Kirkby Moor wind farm for operational and maintenance purposes, is via the quarry, whose main access is from the A5902. A secondary access is via a minor road / track, known as the Kirkby Slate Road located to the south of the site and provides access to an existing substation building located to the south of the current turbine group. 8. Much of the application site is designated (28 February 1990) as part of the Kirkby Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its upland heath habitat, in particular its heather moorland. An area of Access Land designated under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act covers the majority of Kirkby Moor and much of the Kirkby Moor site, including the area in which the existing wind farm is sited. There is also a number of Public Rights of Way (PROW) which cross the site. The site boundary extends across two units of Common Land, Kirkby Moor Common and Lowick High Common. 9. A number of designated heritage assets are located within the vicinity of the application site including Kirkby Hall, a Grade I listed building; Ashlack Hall, St Cuthbert’s Church Beckside, and the Sir John Barrow monument which are Grade II * listed buildings, and St John’s Church Netherhouses and St Luke’s Church Lowick Grade II listed buildings. The nearest conservation areas to the proposed development are at Broughton in Furness, 5.5 km to the north-west and Ulverston Conservation area 5.2 km to the south-east. 10. Long Moor Cairn, a Scheduled Monument, is located within the application site. The Cairn is formed of two parts; the monument consists of a Bronze Age tumulus, a mound placed over a cist burial. There is also a ring cairn, a circular enclosure formed by a bank. Proposal 11. A Section 73 planning application to extend the operational life of Kirkby Moor Wind via variation of Condition 6 of planning permission 5/90/2312. Two elements are proposed that vary the original Condition 6 to two separate conditions: • A revised end date for the cessation of power generation by 31 March 2027 and completion of all decommissioning works by 31 March 2028. This will effect extend the permission for an extra 8 and a half years. • A comprehensive scheme relating to the submission of a detailed Decommissioning Method Statement to be submitted no later than 30 September 2026 or within 6 months of the turbines becoming disused. 12. As the windfarm is pre-existing the normal operational elements of the development relating to construction etc are not listed as forming part of the proposal. It should be noted that Turbine No T2 will be removed as part of the consented extension to Kirkby Moor Quarry. 13. The proposed decommissioning scheme is covered in detail in the application, briefly the following elements are covered: • Establish a temporary decommissioning compound within Kirkby Quarry; • Installation of temporary trackway (where required) and crane pads to allow access by crane and HGV’s; • Removal of wind turbines; • Removal of transformer housing and transformers; • Removal of 700 mm upstand of concrete turbine base; • Capping of any cables left in situ; • Reinstatement of turbine bases (using appropriate sub and top soil); • Removal of temporary trackway and crane pads; • Restoration and planting of area around turbines; • Disposal of turbines and transformers; • Removal of site cabins and temporary decommissioning compound; and • Ongoing aftercare and maintenance of restored areas. PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION 14. The requirement to carry out pre-application consultation with local communities is as set out in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) document Community Engagement for Onshore Wind Developments: Best Practice Guidance published in October 2014. The document states that pre-application consultation is applicable to wind farm developments of between 5 MW to 50 MW; in this case Kirkby Moor produces 4.8 MW. Therefore if strictly interpreted there was no requirement to carry out a community pre-application consultation; notwithstanding this point, the applicant considered that it was still appropriate to engage with the local community and other stakeholders. Although more limited than the exercise carried out for the 2014 repowering application, the exercise has still been carried out in accordance with the minimum requirements as defined by Section 61 W of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and the EIA regulations. 15. The applicant’s have undertaken a pre-application consultation exercise with the local community and key stakeholders that is set out in the submitted Consultation Report. The consultation was undertaken by means of: • A newsletter distributed locally and advertising the public exhibition, • A public exhibition held at Grizebeck village hall on 19 July 2017, • Members of the public were also kept informed of the evolving development proposals through the project website. 16. The main issues arising from the public consultation related to landscape impacts, the moor should be returned to its original state, World Heritage Site, turbines do not have a detrimental impact, enhanced decommissioning is positive, community fund should be spent locally, object to community fund as in effect is bribery, how could the community fund be spent, there should be alternatives to onshore wind, encourage use of wind turbine beyond end of current permission. Event location was unsuitable for those living in Kirkby in Furness because of need to travel. 17. Pre -application engagement with SLDC included meetings and formal written pre-application advice. The following points were raised. • The impacts of the development will have to be considered against a baseline of there being no pre-existing windfarm; • National and local planning policies have changed since the original decision; • World Heritage Site status for the Lake District National Park (LDNP) will have implications on assessment of the proposal. EIA and scoping 18.