Item No. 7 SCHEDULE A
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Item No. 7 SCHEDULE A APPLICATION NUMBER MB/09/00118/FULL LOCATION Land To The North Of, Edworth Road, Langford PROPOSAL Full: Erection of 10 Wind turbines, control building and monitoring mast. Provision of associated hardstanding areas and on-site track accesses. PARISH Langford & Biggleswade WARD Langford & Henlow, Biggleswade WARD COUNCILLORS Cllr Jon Clarke & Cllr Tony Rogers, Cllr Peter Vickers, Cllr Maurice Jones, Cllr David Lawrence & Cllr Jane Lawrence CASE OFFICER David Lamb & Kate Phillips DATE REGISTERED 11 February 2009 EXPIRY DATE 03 June 2009 APPLICANT The Co-Operative Group AGENT EMP-Squared REASON FOR The application site contains land owned by Central COMMITTEE TO Bedfordshire Council, and in view of the public DETERMINE interest in the proposal. RECOMMENDED DECISION Full Application - Refused SITE LOCATION: The application site lies to the east of the East Coast Main railway line and to the west of the A1. Langford is located nearby to the west of the site, and Biggleswade to the north east. To the north, the site adjoins Beaufort Farm with woodland beyond. To the south is Edworth Road, and the local landmark of Toplers Hill water tower is sited to the south east. THE APPLICATION: This is a full planning appli cation for the erection of a 10 turbine wind farm together with associated access roads, hardstanding areas and control building, with a total site area of approximately 450 hectares. The application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES). The ES states that the physical characteristics of individual turbine models can vary depending on the manufacturer of the turbines. In order that the ES considers the worst case scenario, it is based on the largest size of turbine which may be installed. The maximum dimensions of the turbines chosen for this site would be 110 metres from their base to the height of the blade tip when in a vertical position. Each blade would measure up to 40 metres, with a maximum hub height (i.e. the height excluding the turb ine blades) of 70 metres. Subject to these maximum dimensions, the exact design and size of the turbines would depend on their commercial availability, and following discussions with the Council. This is not an uncommon approach by wind farm developers giv en the often lengthy time between the initial design of a scheme and its implementation. Each turbine would be served by an underground cable which would provide a connection to the new substation, and thereafter to the national grid. The substation woul d be located at the southwest portion of the site, and would be single storey measuring 20 X 8 metres with a pitched tile roof. Also within this building would be a small office and toilet for maintenance staff and visitors. This approach is based on experience at other wind farm sites. A grid connection to the local distribution system is not included within the application, and is likely to be subject to consent under the Electricity Act. The ES confirms that access to the site for construction and maint enance purposes would be taken from the south off Edworth Road, where a temporary construction compound would be provided during the construction of the development. The wind farm is expected to generate in the region of 47 million kilowatt hours (units) of electricity each year. Based on the average UK household electricity consumption of 4,100 kWh per annum (PPS22 Guidance (OFGEM) 2004), the ES advises that the proposed wind farm would generate enough electricity to power 11,400 homes. The ES advises that the turbines would have a design life of 20-25 years. When it was submitted originally in January 2009, the application proposed 16 wind turbines. However, more recently the application has been amended to reduce the number of turbines to 10, which in turn decreased the number of onsite access tracks. The northern substation originally proposed has been removed from the scheme, and turbine 7 has been relocated 43 metres to the south to provide a larger buffer zone for bats. The ES has been prepared in accordance with the Town & Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England & Wales) Regulations 1999. It is considered that the ES complies with the requirements of the Regulations and provides a sound basis to inform the Council’s determination of the application. RELEVANT POLICY: National Policy Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development (2005) Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1: Planning and Climate Change (2007) Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy (2004) Planning for Renewable Energy: A Companion Guide to PPS22 Planning Policy Statement: Consultation – Consultation on a Planning Policy Statement: Planning for a Low Carbon Future in a Changing Climate (2010) The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan (2009) The UK Renewable Energy Strategy (2009) Revised Draft Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) (2010) Revised Draft National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (EN-3) (2010) Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment (2010) Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas (2004) Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation (2005) Planning Policy Guidance 24: Noise (1994) Regional Policy East of England Plan (2008) Central Bedfordshire Council’s Core Strategy and Development Management Policies Development Plan Document (2009) Policy CS13 Climate change Policy DM1 Renewable Energy Policy CS15 Heritage Policy CS16 Landscape and woodland Policy DM14 Landscape and woodland Policy DM15 Biodiversity Bedfordshire Structure Plan 2011 Not applicable South Bedfordshire Local Plan Review Policies Not applicable Supplementary Planning Guidance Not applicable RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY MB/08/01311/FULL Full: Erection of 60m high Meteorological Monitoring Mast – Granted 14.10.08 REPRESENTATIONS – 16 TURBINES: Town/ Parish Councils (in alphabetical order) Ashwell Parish Council It is the current policy of Ashwell Parish Council not to comment on planning applications that are outside the parish. Astwick Parish Council No comments received Biggleswade Town Council Object It was resolved that the Town Council raise a HOLDING OBJECTION to this application until further information is obtained from ongoing consultation. Caldecote & Newnham Parish Council No comments received Clifton Parish Council Clifton Parish Council has considered the application and whilst a majority do not object it wishes to make the following comments: 1. One should consider the comments made by Henlow and Langford Parish Councils and residents in those two villages carefully. They are most likely to be affected by the proposal. 2. Viewpoint 12 in Vol. 4 of the submissions shows a view taken from the footpath at Clifton/Henlow showing the impact of the wind turbines. This photograph is taken from a low spot off Stockbridge Road and properties built higher up would be affected more. 3. If the proposal were to be approved could the turbines be camouflaged so as not to make such an impact on the surrounding countryside including that of the Ivel Valley Project. Dunton Parish Council No objection. Edworth Parish Meeting No comments received Henlow Parish Council No objection. RESOLVED: “As a Council we are in favour of renewable energy and the proposed development will not have a negative impact on the residents of Henlow. We therefore have NO OBJECTION to the application.” Hinxworth Parish Council No objection. Some concern was raised about the possibility of the turbines interfering with the signal from the Sandy Television transmitter. We ask for assurances from you that if there is a problem then the applicants will take remedial action. Langford Parish Council Object The response included a detailed response to the application in the form of a report. The executive summary is given below and the full report has been appended to the committee report. Executive Summary The Parish Council has consulted widely and conscientiously with its residents, neighbours and stakeholders and unanimously and rigorously objects to this proposal. Construction on this scale will destroy the village landscape forever and adversely impact the lives of those 4000 people who reside there. It is in total conflict with the area development plan and is a proposal without merit or precedent which must be put aside without any further waste of public resources. Northill Parish Council No objection. Old Warden Parish Council No comments received Radwell PC No comments received Shefford Town Council No objection. Southill Parish Council Object Southill Parish Council has considered the above planning application and after some debate has decided to object to it. The Council has serious concerns over the noise and visual blight as well as lesser concerns over the landscaping and the use of agricultural land. Nearby residents Objection letters 209 letters of objection were received in response to the initial scheme for 16 turbines. The number of letters received does not represent the number of people objecting as some people wrote more than once. It should also be noted that many people used a template letter and numerous people living within the same households have often sent separate, yet identical letters. The relevant issues are summarised below: Landscape • Prominent location character • Tall moving structures are too prominent in open landscape • Blot on the landscape • Unsightly/out of keeping with area • Industrial character of turbines • Significant alteration to the skyline • Adversely affect historic/ rural landscape • Will be visible from nearby conservation area and in views of listed buildings • Change from agriculture to industrial land • Shouldn’t use a Greenfield site – eg. putting down hardstanding as well as turbines etc. • Shouldn’t develop on useful agricultural land • Turbines are too tall (comparisons made to other structures in England) • Out of scale with surrounding features • Countryside in this location is a wonderful example of Bedfordshire • All the other elements of the proposal (sub-station, roads etc.) will also have a detrimental impact on character of area.