On behalf of Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm -Scoping Report- March 2014 Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm, Strategic Search Area B, Powys, Wales - VATTENFALL - Scoping Report Request for a Scoping Opinion under Regulation 8(1) of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009, as amended March 2014 Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm Scoping Report Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................5 1.1 BACKGROUND .........................................................................................................................5 1.2 THE APPLICANT .......................................................................................................................6 1.3 PURPOSE OF THE SCOPING REPORT .............................................................................................6 1.4 CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF THIS SCOPING REPORT .....................................................................8 2 PLANNING AND ENERGY POLICY CONTEXT .............................................................................. 10 2.1 RELEVANT PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK ................................................................................10 2.2 NATIONAL POLICY STATEMENTS ...............................................................................................10 2.3 WELSH GOVERNMENT PLANNING POLICY ...................................................................................12 2.4 LOCAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................13 2.5 UK AND WELSH RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY .............................................................................13 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.................................................................... 14 3.1 SITE LOCATION ......................................................................................................................14 3.2 HISTORY OF THE SITE ..............................................................................................................14 3.3 NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT .............................................................15 3.4 SITE IDENTIFICATION ..............................................................................................................15 3.5 ACCESS ................................................................................................................................16 3.6 WIND FARM INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................................16 3.7 OUTLINE OF MAIN ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED TO DATE ..............................................................19 3.8 DESIGN APPROACH ................................................................................................................21 3.9 CUMULATIVE ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................... 22 3.10 INDICATIVE MITIGATION AND ENHANCEMENT MEASURES .............................................................25 4 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE FOR THE SITE AND SURROUNDS, METHODOLOGIES AND POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ....................................................................... 26 4.1 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................26 4.2 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AND VISUAL AMENITY ...........................................................................27 4.3 RESIDENTIAL VISUAL AMENITY .................................................................................................34 4.4 ECOLOGY AND NATURE CONSERVATION ......................................................................................35 4.5 ORNITHOLOGY ......................................................................................................................47 4.6 ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE ..................................................................................53 4.7 NOISE ASSESSMENT ...............................................................................................................61 4.8 ACCESS TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC .............................................................................................65 4.9 HYDROLOGY , HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOLOGY .............................................................................69 4.10 PEAT ...................................................................................................................................76 4.11 ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI), AVIATION AND SHADOW FLICKER ....................................79 4.12 FORESTRY .............................................................................................................................81 4.13 SOCIO -ECONOMICS , RECREATION AND TOURISM .........................................................................86 4.14 SUGGESTED PLANNING ISSUES TO BE SCREENED OR SCOPED OUT ....................................................93 5 DRAFT OUTLINE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS ................ 96 5.1 ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT ..................................................................................................96 5.2 OTHER DOCUMENTS ...............................................................................................................97 FIGURES Figure 1: Location of Proposed Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm Dulas Ltd for Vattenfall Wind Power LTD i Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm Scoping Report Figure 2: Proposed Development Consent Order Boundary for the Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm Figure 3: Proposed Development Consent Order Boundary in relation to Designated Sites and Planning Boundaries Figure 4: TAN8 Strategic Search Areas B, C and D and Wind Farms within 35km of the Proposed Development Consent Order Boundary APPENDICES Appendices 1-5: Ecology Appendices A1-A5 Dulas Ltd for Vattenfall Wind Power LTD ii Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm Scoping Report 1 Introduction 1.1 Background 1.1.1 The Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm proposal is located in Powys, Wales, to the west of Welshpool and Newtown and between the A458 and A470, as shown on Figure 1. The site is located approximately 3 miles north-east of Talerddig and 2 miles south west of the village of Llanerfyl. 1.1.2 The Proposal site comprises upland grazing land and commercial forestry at its western end and is currently entirely used for farming and forestry purposes. The altitude of the site ranges from approximately 320m to 425m at its highest points at both its eastern and western ends. 1.1.3 The Proposal is considered to constitute a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), under the definitions set out in Section 14 and 15 of the Planning Act 2008 as it is for an onshore generating station with a capacity greater than 50MW. 1.1.4 The proposed Development Consent Order (DCO) boundary, as shown on Figure 2, lies fully within Strategic Search Area B (SSA B), as defined in the Welsh Government policy document Technical Advice Note 8 (TAN8). TAN 8 sought to define the spatial distribution of large wind farms in Wales and is discussed further in Section 2.3 of this document. 1.1.5 The land contained within the proposed DCO boundary has been the subject of two previous wind farm developments. 1.1.6 The first, located on the land to the east of E299000 was known as Mynydd Waun Fawr and was submitted as a planning application with accompanying Environmental Statement (ES) to Powys County Council (PCC) in 2007 with Supplementary Environmental Information in 2009 – this proposal was withdrawn from the planning system in July 2013. 1.1.7 The second, located on the land to the west of E299000 was known as Rhyd Ddu and although never submitted as a planning application was subject to a Scoping exercise and ensuing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) works in 2009. 1.1.8 Accordingly, a substantial level of understanding of the site's environmental characteristics exists from prior survey although it is not thought that this will negate the need for further original survey specific to the current Proposal. Dulas Ltd for Vattenfall Wind Power LTD Page 5 of 125 Mynydd Lluest y Graig Wind Farm Scoping Report 1.1.9 Additionally, due to its central location within SSA B, there are a number of neighbouring wind farm proposals both within the planning system and consented, and so a large amount of environmental information exists within the public domain pertaining to the wider area. 1.2 The Applicant 1.2.1 The Applicant is Vattenfall Wind Power Ltd (Vattenfall). Vattenfall is registered in England (company number 06205750) and forms part of the Vattenfall Group, the ultimate parent company of which is Vattenfall AB, a Swedish public limited liability company owned by the Swedish state. The Vattenfall Group has a significant track record in the development and operation of wind farms in both the onshore and offshore sectors. The company works in all parts of the energy value chain; from generation through to distribution and sales, the Vattenfall Group currently operates 545MW of onshore wind capacity and 836MW of offshore wind across northern Europe. 1.2.2 Vattenfall is committed to meeting society’s need for energy in a responsible and sustainable manner. Vattenfall operates and invests in energy solutions that support sustainable development: economically,