Borough Council of Wellingborough Planning Committee Wednesday 30th November 2011 at 7.00 pm Council Chamber, Swanspool House INDEX Page No. SITE VIEWING GROUP WP/2011/0296/F - Newlands Farm, 75 Harrold Road, Bozeat. 1 WP/2011/0366/F - Manor Farm, 7 Dychurch Lane, Bozeat. 17 WP/2011/0428/F - 84-138 (even) Lea Way, Wellingborough. 28 DISTRICT WP/2011/0302/F - 16 Goodens Lane, Great Doddington. 32 WP/2011/0388/OM - Land rear of 1 to 73 Compton Way, Earls Barton. 38 OTHER BOROUGH WP/2011/0406/OB - Land at Glendon Farm, Nr Burton Latimer. 54 WP/2011/0495/OB - West End Land, North of Brick Kiln Road, Raunds. 58 - 1 - BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH AGENDA ITEM SITE VIEWING (Date of visit Tuesday 29th November 2011 at 10.30 a.m.) Planning Committee 30/11/2011 Report of the Head of Planning and Development APPLICATION REF: WP/2011/0296/F PROPOSAL: Installation of a 11KW Gaia turbine mounted on an 18m lattice mast on a 5m2 concrete base. The turbine is twin bladed with a diameter of 13m. LOCATION: Newlands Farm, 75 Harrold Road, Bozeat, Wellingborough. NN29 7LP APPLICANT: Haydn James. NOTE: At its meeting on the 2nd November 2011, the Committee considered this application and resolved to defer it for further consideration following a site visit. WP/2011/0296/F HARROLD ROAD Legend WP/2011/0296/F - Newlands Farm, 75 Harrold Road, Bozeat Planning & Local © Crown Copyright Description Development and database right 2011. Scale: Ordnance Survey 100018694. Applicants Property 1:3,000 This map is accurate Cities Revealed Title to the scale specified Aerial Photography copyright: ± when reproduced at A4 GetMapping PLC 1999 Application SIte - 2 - O R I G I N A L R E P O R T BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH AGENDA ITEM Planning Committee 02/11/2011 Report of the Head Planning and Development APPLICATION REF: WP/2011/0296/F PROPOSAL: Installation of a 11KW Gaia turbine mounted on an 18m lattice mast on a 5m2 concrete base. The turbine is twin bladed with a diameter of 13m. LOCATION: Newlands Farm, 75 Harrold Road, Bozeat, Wellingborough. APPLICANT: Haydn James. This application is referred to the Planning Committee for determination due to the Parish Council’s concerns relating to the cumulative visual landscape impact set against the currently at appeal Nun Wood wind farm application (Planning Reference: WP/2008/0603/FEIA; Appeal Reference: APP/H2835/A/11/21494437) PROPOSAL AND DESCRIPTION OF SITE: Planning permission is being sought for a single 11 KW Gaia wind turbine mounted on an 18m high lattice mast in an existing grassland field some 210m to the north of Newlands Farmhouse, Bozeat (Grid Reference: SP 92122 59949). Ground to hub level height is 18.3m, and ground to blade tip height of 24.8m. The turbine is twin bladed with a blade diameter of 13m. The blades and nacelle will be finished in pale grey/off white and the lattice mast tower will be finished in metal/galvanised steel. The application site is within open countryside, 1.4 km to the east of Bozeat village and 220m to the north of Harrold Road. The closest residential property is Three Fields Farm some 500m to the south west, south of Harrold Road. RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY: BW/1978/0145 Extension to silage cover - approved BW/1981/0123 Two-storey rear extension to form enlarged kitchen with bathroom over - approved SCR/2010/0002 Screening Opinion and Pre-application enquiry Erection of a Gaia turbine on a 18m lattice tower – EIA not required WP/1993/0530 Mono-pitch storage area – deemed approval WP/1998/0357 Feed hopper – deemed approval WP/2005/0176 Erection of agricultural workers dwelling - approved WP/2005/0724 Erection of agricultural workers dwelling - approved WP/2006/0216 Dutch barn for hay and straw storage - approved - 3 - WP/2009/0242 Slurry tower (prior notification for agricultural development) - agreed WP/2010/0031 Erection of a farm building to house new milking parlour and collecting yard, c/w tank room, inspection pen and feeding alley - approved WR/1965/0173 Extension to farm house - approved WR/1969/0161 Proposed overhead lines - approved WR/1973/0374 Extension to cattle shed - approved WR/1974/0017 Overhead electricity lines - deemed approval NATIONAL AND LOCAL PLANNING POLICY: Planning Policy Statement 1- Delivering Sustainable Development and Supplement to PPS1 Planning Policy Statement 4 – Economic Growth Planning Policy Statement 5 – Planning for the Historic Environment Planning Policy Statement 7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas Planning Policy Statement 9 – Biodiversity and Geological Conservation Planning Policy Statement 22 – Planning for Renewable Energy Planning Policy Statement 23 – Planning and Pollution Control Planning Policy Guidance 24 – Planning and Noise East Midlands Regional Plan (RSS8) 2009 Policy 1 – Regional Core Objectives Policy 2 – Promoting Better Design Policy 24 – Regional Priorities for Rural Diversification Policy 26 – Protecting and Enhancing the Region’s Natural and Cultural Heritage Policy 27 – Regional Priorities for the Historic Environment Policy 29 – Priorities for Enhancing the Region’s Biodiversity Policy 39 – Regional Priorities for Energy Reduction and Efficiency Policy 40 – Regional Priorities for Low Carbon Energy Generation North Northamptonshire Core Spatial Strategy Policy 13 – General Sustainable Development Principles Policy 14 – Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Wellingborough Local Plan Policy G6 – Development in the Open Countryside Supplementary Planning Document Biodiversity Sustainable Design SUMMARY OF REPLIES TO CONSULTATIONS/REPRESENTATIONS RECEIVED: 1. NCC Archaeology - I see that the design and access statement includes a consideration of heritage, however there are questions which they have not considered. The first is that the proposed location is in a field of medieval ridge and furrow, which they would have seen had they consulted either me or the Historic Environment Record. At present I am uncertain how well preserved the ridge and furrow is, but on the - 4 - aerial photos included in the DAS it looks in fairly good condition. I would generally advise against siting turbines in areas of ridge and furrow as it is a landscape feature and therefore difficult to mitigate except by preservation. However, if it is less well preserved this may not be an issue. If you have made a site visit already, did you happen to notice the earthworks? The second issue is below ground archaeology generally. While I appreciate that there are no designated assets on or near the site, again a check of the HER would have shown that there is a good deal of evidence for Roman activity nearby including the line of a Roman road which terminates in Dungee Wood, just south east of the site. An Iron Age/Roman building has been excavated a short distance to the north east of the site along Harrold Road, and a number of find scatters of Roman date are recorded. The indications are that this is an area of archaeological activity, and the presence of ridge and furrow means that the application site has not been disturbed by more modern ploughing which might have brought artefacts to the surface and thus allowed any remains on the site to be recorded. It is possible therefore that currently unrecorded archaeological deposits survive on the site. Our usual practice in county for wind turbine applications is to request evaluation prior to determination – usually a single trench in the case of single turbines such as this. This allows for identification of an alternative location with a lower archaeological impact, if necessary. While the DAS states that the impact on below ground deposits is slight, the fact remains that the proposal is for the excavation of a turbine base 5m x 5m and 1m deep, which could in fact have a considerable negative impact on any below ground archaeological deposits. 2. Natural England – raises no objection. This application is in close proximity to Dungee Corner Meadow Site of Special Scientific Interest. However, given the nature and scale of this proposal, Natural England raises no objection to the proposal being carried out according to the terms and conditions of the application and submitted plans on account of the impact on designated sites. From the information provided with this application, it does not appear to fall within the scope of the consultations that Natural England would routinely comment on. The lack of comment from Natural England should not be interpreted as a statement that there are no impacts on the natural environment. Other bodies and individuals may be able to make comments that will help the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to fully take account of the environmental value of this site in the decision making process. However, we would expect the LPA to assess and consider the possible impacts resulting from this proposal on the following when determining this application: Protected species If the LPA is aware of, or representations from other parties highlight the possible presence of a protected or Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species on the site, the authority should request survey information from the applicant before - 5 - determining the application. The Government has provided advice1 on BAP and protected species and their consideration in the planning system. The following link to some guidance Natural England Standing Advice on our website has been produced to help the authority better understand the impact of this particular development on protected or BAP species should they be identified as an issue at this site and whether following receipt of survey information, the authority should undertake further consultation with Natural England. Local wildlife sites If the proposal site is on or adjacent to a local wildlife site, e.g. Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) or Local Nature Reserve (LNR) the authority should ensure it has sufficient information to fully understand the impact of the proposal on the local wildlife site before it determines the application.