Appeal Decision
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Appeal Decision Inquiry opened on 27 November 2012 Site visits made on 30 November and 1 December 2012 by K D Barton BA(Hons) DipArch DipArb RIBA FCIArb an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Decision date: 22 January 2013 Appeal Ref: APP/E2001/A/12/2179233 Land east of the A165 Bridlington Road at Manor Farm, Fraisthorpe, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire • The appeal is made under Section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a failure to give notice within the prescribed period of a decision on an application for planning permission. • The appeal is made by Fraisthorpe Wind Farm Limited against the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. • The application Ref 12/00640/STPLFE, is dated 9 February 2012. • The development proposed is the erection of 9 wind turbines, a meteorological mast and control building, and ancillary development including access tracks and hardstandings. Decision 1. The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for the erection of 9 wind turbines, a meteorological mast and control building, and ancillary development including access tracks and hardstandings on land east of the A165 Bridlington Road at Manor Farm, Fraisthorpe, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 12/00640/STPLFE, dated 9 February 2012, subject to the conditions in the attached schedule. Preliminary Matters 2. The Inquiry sat for 4 days from 27 to 30 November 2012. Accompanied and unaccompanied site visits were carried out on 30 November and further unaccompanied visits were undertaken on 1 December. 3. The proposal is ‘Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development’ for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 and an Environmental Statement (ES) was submitted with the application. Some local residents consider that the ES is deficient, in part on the basis of comments by statutory consultees. English Heritage (EH) considers that the impact of the proposal on the Burton Agnes Hall complex of heritage assets has been underestimated, but this does not mean the ES is deficient. Indeed, EH states that the harm would be less than substantial and so would require clear justification in the public interest. 4. It is also alleged that there is insufficient information on birds and their movements but English Nature does not object to the proposal as it considers that it would be unlikely to affect any European Protected Species. In addition, the Council’s Conservation Officer (Biodiversity) concludes that the proposal is www.planningportal.gov.uk/planninginspectorate Appeal Decision APP/E2001/A/12/2179233 unlikely to cause any significant harm to any local or national Biodiversity Action Plan bird species and notes that surveys support the ecologist’s conclusions. I conclude that the ES meets the needs of the relevant Regulations and have taken it, and the views of statutory consultees and others, into account in reaching my decision. 5. The Energy Bill was published on the penultimate day of the Inquiry. The Council confirmed that it had no comment to make on the Bill whilst the appellant considers that it demonstrates the Government’s continuing support for low-carbon, renewable energy generation projects and re-affirms its recognition of the crucial role that renewables, in particular wind energy, have in ensuring future electricity generation. The Proposed Development 6. The nine proposed wind turbines would be up to 130 metres in height to the blade tip and each would have a generating capacity of 2-3 MW. If planning permission were to be granted, a final turbine selection would be made following a competitive tendering process. However, a Vestas V100 2.6 MW turbine was used for the purposes of the ES, except for noise where a Repower 3.XM 3.4 MW turbine was assumed. The proposal would also include alterations to the existing vehicular access, site access tracks, a permanent 80 metre high meteorological mast, a control building, crane hardstanding areas, and a temporary construction compound. A condition should be attached to any permission to allow a micro-siting tolerance of up to 30 metres from the turbine co-ordinates provided to allow for any site specific conditions that might be encountered. 7. A Planning Statement submitted with the application makes clear that the operational life of the wind farm would be 25 years from commissioning to decommissioning. Conditions could clarify this and require a comprehensive decommissioning plan to be submitted for approval to ensure that the site was returned to its current condition to safeguard the landscape in the long term. Whilst consideration must be given to the temporary nature of the proposals as required by National Policy Statement EN-3, 25 years would be a significant time period for local residents as opposed to heritage assets that have existed, and will continue to exist, for very many years. 8. The connection between the wind farm and the local distribution network is not part of the proposal but the point of connection is expected to be approximately 5 kilometres to the north. This would be the subject of an application under the Electricity Act 1989 and would be accompanied by its own ES in due course. The Site and its Surroundings 9. The appeal site has an area of 184 hectares, of which some 10.4 hectares would be directly affected by construction activities. It comprises coastal farmland with an average height of 10 metres above ordnance datum (AOD). The nearest settlement is the village of Fraisthorpe to the west, which comprises three farmsteads and 11 other residential properties. There are also a number of isolated farmsteads in the vicinity with Auburn Farm to the east of the site being the closest. Bridlington is some 2.1 kilometres to the north east, whilst Barmston lies in the region of 2.8 kilometres to the south. www.planningportal.gov.uk/planninginspectorate 2 Appeal Decision APP/E2001/A/12/2179233 10. The A165 Bridlington Road to the west of the site runs north/south and an unclassified road traverses the site connecting the main road to Auburn Farm and a car park at Fraisthorpe Sands on the coast to the east. No public rights of way or long distance walking routes cross the appeal site. The nearest national cycle network route is around 4 kilometres to the north and runs into Bridlington from the west whilst the nearest bridleway would be approximately 820 metres to the north of the nearest turbine. Planning Policy 11. The development plan for the area includes the Yorkshire and Humber Plan: Regional Spatial Strategy to 2026 adopted in 2008 (RSS), saved policies in the Joint Structure Plan for Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire 2005 (SP), and the saved policies in the East Yorkshire Borough Wide Local Plan 1997 (LP). The National Planning Policy Framework ( Framework ) was published in March 2012 and, as the most up-to-date policy statement, is an important material consideration. In accordance with paragraph 215 of the Framework, relevant policies in extant plans adopted in accordance with procedures that predate the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 should be given weight according to their consistency with the Framework . 12. Reference has been made to the Council’s Interim Planning Document on Renewable Energy Developments 2009 (IPD) but this has not been through a formal consultation process and so attracts little weight as a policy document. Indeed, the Council considers it a guidance note for developers of renewable energy schemes. 13. National energy policy includes legally binding targets, set by the Climate Change Act 2008 , for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050 and CO 2 emissions by at least 26% by 2020 against a 1990 baseline. Paragraph 43 of the December 2011 Carbon Plan states that the power sector accounts for some 27% of UK total emissions by source and that by 2050 emissions from the sector need to be close to zero. 14. The Government is committed to making the country more energy secure and protecting consumers from fossil fuel price fluctuations. The current goal, set by the Renewable Energy Directive 2009 , is for 15% of the UK’s energy demand to be met from renewable resources by 2020. There is also an ambition, in the UK Renewable Energy Roadmap issued in July 2011, for renewable energy to meet 30-45% of all energy consumed in the UK by 2030. The Committee on Climate Change published the Renewable Energy Review in May 2011 and this acknowledges that, compared with onshore wind, most other renewable energy generation technologies are expensive and are likely to remain so until at least 2020, and in some cases considerably later. 15. LP Policy EN25 is generally supportive of renewable energy schemes subject to a number of criteria being met whilst RSS Policy YH2 seeks, amongst other matters, to increase renewable energy capacity. RSS Policy ENV5 is consistent with the Framework and sets local targets for contributing to renewable energy capacity. Although the Government has expressed the intention to abolish the RSS, the evidence base that underpins it is still relevant. The target for East Riding could be met, or exceeded, by projects with planning permission if they were all built out. However, the Council accepts that the targets are indicative and should be considered a floor rather than a ceiling. www.planningportal.gov.uk/planninginspectorate 3 Appeal Decision APP/E2001/A/12/2179233 16. The Climate Change Committee’s report to Government in June 2012 notes that investment in onshore wind fell short of the indicator trajectory for a second year in a row, and well below the levels required to meet the 2020 target of 15% of energy to be from renewable sources.