Allerdale Borough Council 2/2012/0682 Reference No: 2/2012/0682 Received: 28 August 2012 Proposed Erection of a single wind turbine with a maximum blade tip height Development: of 62m and associated infrastructure. Location: Land Adjoining Airfield Wiggonby Wigton Applicant: Windberry Energy Operations Ltd Drawing Numbers: WB070/01 - General Site Location Plan WB070/02 - Site Plan WB070/03 - Elevations WB070/05 - Site Location Plan Constraints: None Policies: Allerdale Local Plan, Adopted 199 9 (Saved) Policy EN5 - Pollution Control Policy EN6 - Location of potentially polluting development Policy EN9 - Contaminated/Derelict Land Policy EN10 - Restoration, after uses cease Policy EN14 - Safeguarding Water Environment Policy EN19 - Landscape Protection Policy EN25 - Protecting the open countryside Policy EN32 - Protecting wildlife protected by law Cumbria and Lake District Joint Structure Plan 2001-2016 (Saved) Policy R44 - Renewable energy outside the Lake District National Park and AONBs Policy E35 - Areas and features of nature conservation interests other than those of national and international conservation importance Policy E37 - Landscape character North West Regional Spatial Strategy to 2021 Policy DP1 - Spatial principles Policy DP9 - Reduce emissions and adapt to climate change Policy EM17 - Renewable Energy National Planning Policy Framework Cumbria Wind Energy Supplementary Planning Document July 2007 Relevant Planning SCR/2012/0010 – EIA Screening Opinion, 27/03/2012, No History: Environmental Impact Assessment required. Nearby Sites 2/1996/0529 - 1x 70m (blade tip) high turbine approved at Wiggonby Airfield; 2/1998/0134 – 6 x 67m (blade tip) turbines approved Wiggonby Airfield 2/2012/0524, 1 x 67m (blade tip) turbine Wiggonby Airfield refused and subject to appeal 2/2012/0354 – 1 x 34m high turbine at Green Croft Oughterby, refused. 2/2011/0265 – 1 x 27m high turbine approved at Park House, Aikton 2/2012/0040 – 2 x 46m high turbines approved at Thornby Villa 2/2011/0682 – 1 x 27m high turbine approved at Greyrigg House, Thursby. Representations: Parish Councils Orton Parish Council Objects to the proposal on grounds of amenity (height and visual intrusion); Wildlife concerns in respect of bats and nearby nature reserves; Aikton Parish Council No objections Kirkhampton Parish Council Public meeting held on 24/09/2012. Surrounded by wind turbines in other parishes in both Allerdale and Carlisle city; The close accumulation of turbines in such a small area gives the effect of a wind farm. This is not a structure wanted by the majority in the Parish that it will affect. Carlisle City Council: No observations received. Cumbria County Council – The development would not be a Category 1 Application and would not be responding from a strategic planning perspective. They recommend that the Council use current development plan policies relating to renewable energy and consider potential cumulative impacts. CAA – No objections Carlisle Airport – Holding objection subject to the submission of a satisfactory Safeguarding Report. Stobartair 22/01/2013. I am writing in response to your letter dated 17th January 2013 drawing our attention to a Consultation on Additional Information entitled Briefing Note on Stobart Air Response provided by WPAC Ltd on 16th January 2013. We have not been contacted by the applicant or their agent since your original notification to us and our response on 18th September 2012. To clarify the situation, every wind turbine application is different and varies by virtue of the size, elevation, location and number of proposed turbines, therefore each application is assessed on its own merits and cannot be assumed to be of a nature that will not affect aviation safety without proper assessment. The airport is the statutory consultee in this regard with responsibility for ensuring that aviation safety is maintained in relation to airport operations within our safeguarded area. In regard to this, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved safeguarding area for Carlisle Airport is 30 km radius from the airport and not 15 km as mentioned by WPAC Ltd in their briefing note. The requirement to undertake a safeguarding assessment includes not only the immediate physical safeguarding surfaces but also the traffic flows associated with the airport and its operations. In addition, the Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) associated with the airport are also assessed. As detailed in our initial letter dated 18th September 2012, the airport requires that such assessment is carried out by a suitably qualified (and, for the IFPs, accredited by the CAA) organisation; the airport offers this service. However, should an applicant wish to use an alternative provider then the airport reserves the right to charge for the review of such an application where there is technical detail that requires a specialist to advise us. We require a proper assessment to be carried out on this application in order to accurately determine whether or not any conflict arises with aviation safety. We have not been contacted by the applicant or their agent and have no more information that that initially provided. We look forward to receiving more information from the applicant concerning their preferred assessment process. Cumbria Highways – The applicant has indicated that all the parts for the wind turbine will be delivered by “normal” HGV. There will therefore be no Abnormal loads going to or leaving the site. Considering the number of applications already taking access off this road and the fact that the access to the site is removed from the highway, I can confirm that I have no objection to this application but would recommend that the following conditions are included in any consent you may grant: Development shall not be begun until a Construction Method Statement including details of all on-site construction works, post construction reinstatement, drainage, mitigation, and other restoration, together with details of their timetabling has been submitted to and approved by the local planning authority Development shall not be begun until a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. County Archaeologist – No recommendations or comments Environment Agency – No objections Environmental Health – No objections subject to an appropriate condition to control noise. Ministry of Defence – No objections subject to aviation lighting being fitted to the equipment. Natural England – The application is within close proximity to Thurstonfield Lough and Orton Moss SSSIs. However, given the nature and scale of the proposal the development is not likely to be an adverse effect on these sites. The SSSI designations do not represent a constraint in determining this application. The LPA should assess the application against the standing advice related to protected species. Neighbour Consulations - The application has been advertised on site and adjoining owners have been notified. There have been in excess of 20 letters from local residents objecting to the proposal on the following grounds: • Cumulative effects • The report does not take into affect all wind turbines and meteorological masts within the area • Impact on landscape • Do not agree with the landscape conclusion that the impact would be ‘moderate and therefore not significant’ • Limits of the landscape study area to 7km • Public opinion should be taken into account well before mitigation is considered • The capacity for wind turbines has been surpassed • The fact the other tall structures exist nearby is not a precedent • The photomontages are of little value due to positions of where the photograph is taken • Photographs cannot show an accurate representation of a moving structure • Precedent for further development • There is no overriding need for the development • The application does not contain a satisfactory or accurate cumulative impact assessment nor an environmental impact survey • The met mast has only been erected and would not have had sufficient data to gather data therefore the application is premature • Very few details of the turbine itself are submitted • The development is a commercial venture with no local benefit • In appropriate in terms of size and scale • Affects on visual amenity of the area • Benefits of the scheme not specified • Would not comply with policies • Noise Impact • Impact on local amenity and visitor amenity • The site is incompatible with the preservation of habitats of protected bird and animal species • The applications in Allerdale and Carlisle are trying to create a large wind farm with single applications Planning Appeal (Non Determination) This application is currently the subject to a planning appeal (APP/G0908/A/13/2192507) against the non-determination of this application by this Authority within the time limit allowed. The Planning Inspectorate has agreed to a short extension of time to 16 th May 2013 in order to allow for this Panel to consider this application prior to the preparation of the Authority’s appeal statement. Report Local Finance Considerations Having regard to S70 (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act the proposal does not have any local finance considerations Introduction Located close to the border of the district with Carlisle, this proposal seeks permission for the erection of a single 62m high (blade tip) wind turbine on land adjoining the western edge of the former military airfield located some three kilometres to the west of the Village