Questions for G2 Energy prior to the forthcoming Leigh on Mendip Village Open Meeting to Discuss the 0.5MW Single Wind Turbine Installation at Rockhouse Farm, Chantry, Mendip (including G2 Energy answers) Note: These questions only concern the G2 Energy installation and not the four turbine installation proposed for Torr Works or other installations being proposed in and around the area. Location The ‘Core Planning Principles’ embodied in the National Planning Practice Guidance (27 Mar 12) includes statements such as “planning should …. be a creative way of finding ways to improve and enhance the places in which people live …. always seek to secure high quality design …. recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and support thriving rural communities within it”. It also states that key points when considering proposed developments include (amongst other things) the “relation to that of other adjoining buildings and spaces; the topography; the general pattern of heights in the area; and views, vistas and landmarks.” The proposed single wind turbine is on high ground and is visible over a wide area and in particular, throughout Leigh on Mendip. Whilst the village is in a light industrial area – mainly farming, quarrying and supporting industry – planning has ensured that environmental banking, discrete location and sympathetic construction has generally preserved the uniqueness and beauty of this scenic area on the edge of the Mendip plateau. The tallest buildings in the local area are typically the churches. In particular, the one at Leigh on Mendip with its over-square construction and tall slender tower is known as the ‘jewel of the Mendips’ and has a tower 28 metres high, some 36% of the height of the proposed wind turbine which is constructed on virtually the same 180 metre contour and about 1.5km away. There are other tall vertical structures within a few miles of the village, in particular the slender communication masts adjacent to Cranmore Tower. However, these are not generally visible in the village and even if they are accepted as they carry a community benefit – mobile phone stations. Q1: How can the proposed installation be considered to improve and enhance the area and recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside? A1: A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) has been prepared that accompanies the application. In summary , the LVIA concludes that the landscape is largely agricultural, consisting of undulating ridges and wide‐headed valleys that are often narrow with steep slopes. On the more level areas, arable farming is present but the dominant land cover is medium sized pasture fields. Although the LVIA also recognises that whilst the landscape is agricultural, the wider context of exploitative land uses dominates the character area. The proposed turbine would sit in this context of utilising resources and form part of the working landscape. At a broader landscape level the proposed single turbine development at Rockhouse Farm would form a recognisable element in the within National Landscape Character Area 141. The overall sensitivity of the area is considered to be Medium because the landscape is relatively intact, but has some signs of degradation through the quarrying industry and industrialisation around larger towns. There would be a small adverse change as the proposed turbine would be a very small component of the wider landscape. The magnitude of change would be lessened by the surrounding quarrying activities. Q2: How can the proposed installation be considered to support thriving rural communities when it brings no additional jobs or income to the area? A2: In response to changing economic circumstances, almost 50% of farms in the UK have sought to supplement traditional incomes through some form of diversified activity in the farming business. It is widely acknowledged that farm diversification offers the opportunity to improve the economic viability of many farm businesses, with recent figures suggesting diversification can generate an average of £10,400 extra revenue per farm. Diversification can reduce dependence on agricultural production and can also make better use of a farm’s physical resources and characteristics. The UK Government emphasis that by diversifying into other activities, farms can bring revenue to the area and create employment opportunities that are beneficial to the wider local economy. There are few limits in place and farms can choose to diversify into agricultural or non‐agricultural related activities. In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the installation of renewable technologies has grown in popularity. Whilst perhaps not affecting the immediate community at Rockhouse Farm it is important to recognise that the wind, wave and tidal energy sector directly employs 18,465 people full time. The sector also supports 15,908 indirect jobs, making a total of over 34,300 employees. Number of employees in offshore wind has doubled since 2010. More than 70,000 jobs could be created over the next decade. 91% of the industry’s jobs in the UK are currently filled by UK citizens. The offshore wind sector saw the biggest growth between 2010 and 2013, with the number of direct jobs doubling from 3,151 to 6,830. When including indirect jobs (companies that supply goods and services to the sector, such as gearbox component manufacturers) the wind, wave and tidal energy industries support the employment of over 34,000 people. Jointly commissioned by RenewableUK and Energy & Utility Skills, and compiled by Cambridge Econometrics in partnership with IFF Research and the Warwick Institute for Employment Research, this new employment data shows that 91% of employees in the UK wind and marine energy industry are UK citizens. This demonstrates how important the green economy is for providing and creating employment in the UK, often in parts of the country with high levels of unemployment. The research highlights the fact that women make up 20% of the sector’s workforce – this is lower than the proportion of women in technical and professional occupations in the UK, but proportionally higher than in the power sector overall, thereby demonstrating the sector’s success in attracting women into the energy industry1. Q3: How can the proposed installation be considered to blend sympathetically with adjoining buildings and spaces; the topography; the general pattern of heights in the area; and views, vistas and landmarks? A3: The accompanying LVIA set out in greater detail the assessed visual impacts of the wind turbine on the surrounding area. In summary, it concludes that the proposed turbine at Rockhouse Farm would be well screened by the high levels of mature vegetation that is present in woodlands and parklands surrounding the site. The undulating topography of the area increases the areas that 1 http://www.renewableuk.com/en/news/press-releases.cfm/74-increase-in-uk-jobs-in-wind-and-marine- energy would be screened from views of the proposed development, although where areas of elevated ground are free from vegetation, they often have long and wide ranging vistas. Important views in the local landscape are those that include the distinct Alfred’s Tower and Cranmore Tower. Both views of and from these towers are locally distinct although the towers themselves are only open to visitors on the weekends but offer uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape. The proposed turbine would be visible from both Cranmore Tower and Alfred’s Tower although would not form a dominant feature in the expansive vistas available from the top. The proposed turbine would be unlikely to interrupt any key views towards the towers, although would feature in views from a number of local roads that include fleeting views of the towers. The proposed turbine at Rockhouse Farm would feature in a number of views from roads and public rights of way but the undulating topography and the high level of vegetation that surrounds the site would limit the visibility for transient receptors. The majority of roads are lined by mature hedgerows that contain hedgerow trees and limit the visibility of receptors that pass along them. Visibility of the proposed turbine would be limited to temporary snapshots in varied views for transient receptors. The majority of residential properties in the area are clustered in settlements with a small number of scattered isolated dwellings. Many of the settlements sit within a hollow or are surrounded by a significant level of vegetation that limits views over the surrounding landscape for receptors in residential properties. A small number of properties on the edge of settlements such as Chantry and Blacker’s Lane would have views of the proposed turbine where it would become a prominent feature. The turbine would feature in a small number of long distance views from the AONB’s that surround the site but would be at such a distance that it would form a barely visible element in the wide ranging vistas available. A number of Registered Parks and Gardens (such as Mells Park) exist in close proximity to the proposed development site but the high levels of vegetation that surround them provide significant visual screening for receptors inside the grounds. The wind turbine is on the north side of Asham wood and quarry. Asham wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is the largest and most diverse of the ancient semi-natural woods in the Mendips. Despite recent partial destruction due to quarrying it remains one of the most important sites and has a range of unusual flora and fauna. There are various rare breeding butterflies - including grizzled skipper, silverwashed fritillary, purple hairstreak - and birds, including buzzards, sparrow-hawks, warblers, flycatchers, woodpeckers and peregrine falcons in the wood and adjacent disused quarry. There are also understood to be a notably varied population of bat (eleven species).