Committee and Date Item/Paper

South Planning Committee [Ludlow]

28th September 2010 6 Public

Development Management Report

Application Number: 10/02265/FUL Parish: Mainstone

Grid Ref: 327496 - 287546

Proposal: Erection of one 15m high wind turbine with 3 blade rotor system of 9.8m diameter sited on a self supporting monopole

Site Address: Land At Mainstone Farm Mainstone Shropshire SY9 5LQ

Applicant: Mr B Evans

Case Officer: Julie Preston email: [email protected]

1.0 THE PROPOSAL 1.1 This is a full planning application for the construction of a single domestic 15kW turbine on a 15m galvanised steel tower. The three blade rotor is fabricated from black polypropylene with a diameter of 9.8m giving an overall height to the tip of a vertical rotor blade of 19.9m. The mast would be based on an 18 m3 concrete foundation.

1.2 The wind turbine will generate the majority of electricity required by Mainstone Farm and a related domestic residence. It will also be connected to the National Grid so any excess electricity generated can be exported.

2.0 SITE LOCATION/DESCRIPTION 2.1 The proposed site of the turbine is on a high ridge of agricultural land to the north of Churchtown. Offa’s Dyke, a Scheduled Monument and National Trail, is located 320m to the west. The site is roughly 630m from Mainstone Farm which is situated in the valley to the east. There is an existing track from the farm and local road network to the site.

2.2 The site is in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in a particularly attractive upland landscape characterised by hills and fields divided by hedgerows. There are a number of public rights of way in the vicinity and public access is allowed along the farm track that provides access to the site. The nearest residential property is located 350m away in a valley to the south west of the site.

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South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

3.0 RECOMMENDATION 3.1 That planning permission is granted subject to conditions.

4.0 REASON FOR COMMITTEE DETERMINATION OF APPLICATION 4.1 In accordance with the ‘Scheme of Delegation’, the application is referred to the Area Regulatory Committee because more than six individual letters of objection have been received.

5.0 RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY 5.1 There are no relevant planning applications on the site of this proposal but the applicant has withdrawn two previous applications for a turbine to serve Mainstone Farm. These applications were in the region of 600m to the north west of the present site and located closer to Offa’s Dyke.

6.0 CONSULTEE RESPONSES 6.1 SC Technical Officer (Pollution) There appears to be no dwellings or premises within 400m of the proposed turbine location. Therefore, no noise impact on residential premises is anticipated and I have no objections to the proposed development.

6.2 SC Landscape Officer I have no objection to the siting of the turbine and would consider that the revised location is preferable to the previous proposed site in landscape and visual terms.

6.3 SC County Ecologist No objection

6.4 Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership While the AONB Partnership is supportive of the promotion and implementation of a policy of renewable energy, based on a range of sustainability criteria, this is tempered by visual and landscape aspects. It therefore would like to express concern in relation to the above planning application 10/02265.

Policy 35 of the 2009-2014 Shropshire Hills AONB Management Plan states that the siting of turbines should, “take account of factors including landscape character and visual amenity…” guidelines recommend that one or two turbines up to 12m to blade tip and within 100m of existing buildings are considered acceptable. The proposed site for this turbine is remote from any associated building, the nearest farm building being c. 680m to the SE. Paragraph 212 of Planning Policy Statement 7 states that “the conservation of the natural beauty of the landscape in AONBs)…should be given great weight in regard to planning decisions and Section 25 of the CROW Act of 2000 requires regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the area of the AONB. In this respect the intention expressed in the proposal’s Design and Access Statement that, “This is intended as a beacon to sustainability” is a cause for concern to the AONB Partnership. The proposed position, though less intrusive than previously proposed locations, remains an intrusion into a visually sensitive landscape, which from the above quotation would appear to be a desired component part of the installation. While the AONB Partnership supports the use of renewable energies, a balance between the advantages accrued and the negative visual impact of such

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South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

infrastructure is considered of paramount importance. In such locations the AONB Partnership urges consideration of the use of alternative technologies such as photovoltaic cell arrays where appropriate. Though initially more expensive to install they offer a greater level of efficiency with a minimum of negative effect on the landscape.

In this case it is considered that the position of the proposed turbine, “on the crest of the ridge”, above the village of Mainstone, while less intrusive than previously proposed locations, will be an intrusion when viewed from the south and east. Similarly while now more remote from the nationally important monument of Offa’s Dyke, which lies c. 380m to the west, it will have some impact on the visual setting of this major historical monument.

6.5 Ministry of Defence – Safeguarding Officer No safeguarding objections to the proposal.

6.6 English Heritage No comments

6.7 Mainstone Parish Council No response received. No objection was raised to the two earlier proposals for a wind turbine at Mainstone Farm.

7.0 PUBLIC REPRESENTATIONS 7.1 Nine letters of objection have been received including letters from the Offa’s Dyke Association and Campaign to Protect Rural England. The main objections are summarised as follows:

• The site is visually obtrusive in the AONB and be detrimental to the character and beauty of the area. • The area is unspoilt, tranquil and beautiful. The proposed turbine will be intrusive in views from higher ground. • The proposal is contrary to Policy E1 in the Local Plan and policy 36 of the AONB Management Plan which would require the turbine to be sited within 100m of the farm. • The proposal will provide a very small amount of renewable energy which is outweighed by the destructive effect on the landscape. • Most wind power development should be located outside National Parks and AONBs. • The wind turbine will be visible from the Shropshire Way and Offa’s Dyke paths. It will detract from the enjoyment of the area and be detrimental to tourism. • The tower will be within 750m of our property and will be visible on the skyline without any screening. • The roof of the proposed new farm building should be used for photo- voltaic cells. These would be a similar cost to install and avoid the need for the turbine. • The proposal has not been considered by the Parish Council. • In respect of the impact on Offa’s Dyke, the Offa’s Dyke Association make the following objections: Contact Rob Mills (01584) 838340 Page 3 of 8

South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

Offa’s Dyke is an internationally important 1200 year old bank and ditch which runs for 130 miles through the borderland of England and Wales. The dyke is a Scheduled Monument, and its enduring significance as the ancient border of England and Wales is emphasised by its modern reinvention as the line of the Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail (one of the UK’s premier long distance footpaths).

With respect to the current application, we note the proposed relocation of the turbine to the east of the dyke. We accept that, in terms of views from Offa’s Dyke to the west, this relocation may be held to partly mitigate the impact on the setting of the monument/National Trail (although no such argument/reason for the change is presented in the application). The revised location would certainly entirely remove any potential physical impact on the dyke fabric associated with the turbine installation process.

However, we would strongly emphasise that the objections to the previous application fundamentally remain directly relevant to the current application. We note that:

(i)It remains the case – and must inevitably be so at a high point in the Shropshire Hills and at such proximity to Offa’s Dyke – that the turbine will directly and significantly impact on and interrupt the setting of the Edenhope section of the monument. That impact specifically applies to important close and medium range views from the north, south and west (the latter especially destructive to the original design of the monument as a dominant statement of British/Welsh exclusion from Mercian/English land);

(ii)Given the very small environmental/climate change mitigation benefit that this single turbine would provide (and given the identified potential for a viable green energy alternative without any of the negative consequences of the wind turbine), no demonstrable case has been made that such a significant impact on an internationally important heritage asset within an AONB is to the public benefit (and no attempt has even been made to present such a case);

(iii)The application does not comply in key respects with national planning policy for the treatment of heritage assets as set out within PPS 5 (particularly taking into account the accepted international significance of Offa’s Dyke and the core relevance of the setting of Offa’s Dyke to that significance). The application is therefore fundamentally deficient in this respect.

In consideration of these factors, the Offa’s Dyke Association strongly objects to this planning

8.0 PLANNING POLICY 8.1 Central Government Guidance: PPS 1 Delivering Sustainable Development PPS 5 Planning for the Historic Environment

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South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

PPS7 Sustainable Development in Rural Areas PPS22 Renewable Energy

8.2 South Shropshire Local Plan: E1 Landscape Conservation SD1 Sustainable Development

9.0 THE MAIN ISSUES • Impact on the landscape, visual amenity and Offa’s Dyke • Impact on nearby residential properties

10.0 OFFICER APPRAISAL 10.1 Principle of Development 10.1.1 The provision of small-scale renewable energy installations is supported by development plan policies and government guidance. PPS 22 advises Local Planning Authorities to accord significant weight to the environmental and economic benefits of renewable energy proposals and, in AONBs, small scale proposals should be permitted provided there is no significant environmental detriment to the area. It therefore follows that planning permission should be granted unless it can be shown that there would be a significant adverse effect on the AONB sufficient to outweigh the environmental benefits of the proposal. In addition, the noise generated by the turbine has to be considered in relation to the proximity of residential properties.

10.2 Impact on the landscape, visual amenity and Offa’s Dyke 10.2.1 The proposed turbine would have three blades, giving a rotor diameter of 9.8m, and would be supported by a 15m high mast, which would be brought to the site up the existing farm track. The plastic blades would be coloured black, and the mast would be of grey galvanised steel. The proposed turbine is of a small scale design which has been used in many rural locations and sensitive landscapes throughout the country. Similar turbines have been granted elsewhere in the Shropshire Hills AONB.

10.2.2. The site is a spur of agricultural land on a ridge above Churchtown. It is situated just below the upland plateau dominated by Edenhope Hill in an area characterised by open fields divided by hedgerows with woodland on the steep valley sides. Offa’s Dyke is a prominent landscape feature running in a northerly direction 320m to the west of the site. There are other paths with public access in close proximity, including the farm access track located immediately to the north of the turbine.

10.2.3 The site benefits from being slightly lower than the land to the north and west. As a result, the turbine will be seen from most viewpoints against a backdrop of the surrounding landscape. Trees and hedgerows significantly breakdown views of the site from Offa’s Dyke. The site is not visible from the deep valleys to the south and east. The turbine will be seen in silhouette against the sky only in close proximity from the nearby footpath. By its nature, the site has to be elevated to make the best use of the wind available and overall the site chosen will not be seriously detrimental to the character of the AONB. There will be distant views of the turbine but these will be limited. Officers acknowledge the concerns about the impact on

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South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

Offa’s Dyke but the turbine has been moved a significant distance away from the Scheduled Monument since the proposal was first submitted. English Heritage no longer objects to the proposal. A reasonable balance has been achieved between protecting the character of the landscape and providing an opportunity to secure green energy to run the farm.

10.3 Impact on neighbours/residential amenity 10.3.1 The shape of the blades and the absence of a gearbox are design features intended to minimise noise when the turbine is in operation. The nearest dwelling is 350 metres distant and should not suffer any disturbance from the turbine.

11.0 CONCLUSION 11.1 The scale and appearance of the wind turbine and tower on the site proposed will not have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the amenity of the nearest dwelling. The environmental benefits of providing renewable energy for the farm outweigh the limited detrimental impact on the character of the AONB in this instance. The proposal conforms with the policies of the Development Plan so far as they are relevant to the application.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS: Application file 10/02265/FUL

HUMAN RIGHTS

Article 8 give the right to respect for private and family life and First Protocol Article 1 allows for the peaceful enjoyment of possessions. These have to be balanced against the rights and freedoms of others and the orderly development of the County in the interests of the Community.

First Protocol Article 1 requires that the desires of landowners must be balanced against the impact on residents.

This legislation has been taken into account in arriving at the above recommendation.

Environment Appraisal A Design and Access Statement forms part of the proposal. Risk Management Appraisal N/A Community / Consultations Appraisal Undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Acts. Member Champion Cllr Malcolm Price Local Member Cllr Peter Phillips

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South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

Reason for Approval

The scale and appearance of the wind turbine and tower on the site proposed would not have a significantly detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the setting of Offa's Dyke. The proposal conforms with the policies of the Development Plan so far as they are relevant to the application.

In determining this application the Local Planning Authority gave consideration to the following policies :

Central Government Guidance: PPS 1 Delivering Sustainable Development PPS5 Planning for the Historic Environment PPS7 Sustainable Development in Rural Areas PPS22 Renewable Energy

South Shropshire Local Plan Policies: E1 Landscape Conservation SD1 Sustainable Development

Conditions

1. The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission. Reason: To comply with Section 91(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1990 (As amended).

2. The development shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the approved plans and drawings. Reason: For the avoidance of doubt and to ensure that the development is carried out in accordance with the approved plans and details.

3. No ancillary buildings, equipment or above ground electricity distribution connections required in connection with the development hereby approved shall be constructed or installed without the submission of details to and agreement in writing of the Local Planning Authority. Reason: To protect the visual amenities of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in accordance with policy E1 of the South Shropshire Local Plan.

4. The wind turbine and tower shall be permanently removed form the site within six months of it no longer being required to generate electricity. Reason: To protect the visual amenities of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in accordance with policy E1 of the South Shropshire Local Plan.

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South Planning Committee (Ludlow) – 28th September 2010

5. No alteration to the finish and colour of the tower shall be made without the agreement in writing of the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To protect the visual amenities of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in accordance with policy E1 of the South Shropshire Local Plan.

© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Shropshire Council 100049049. 2010 For reference purposes only. No further copies may be made.

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