meeting Cabinet date 11th October 2006 agenda item number Report of the Leader Strategic planning observations on planning application for five wind turbines at land to the west of Blidworth Lane, Rainworth, Nottinghamshire Purpose of the Report 1. To seek approval for comments set out in this report to be sent to Newark and Sherwood District Council in response to the request for strategic planning observations on the above planning application. Introduction 2. On 3rd July 2006 a planning application was submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council for a windfarm at land to the west of Blidworth Lane, Rainworth, Nottinghamshire. 3. Nottinghamshire County Council has been consulted for strategic planning observations on the application and this report compiles responses from Departments involved in providing comments and observations on such matters. On the basis of Cabinet’s decision, comments will be sent to Newark and Sherwood District Council in response to this consultation. 4. The planning application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES) and a Planning Statement. This report is based on the information submitted with the application in the context of national, regional and local policy. 5. Through the consideration of the ES a number of omissions and incorrect assumptions have been identified. Most of these matters could be addressed through the submission of further information or reassessment of the situation based on a different assumption. The issues are raised in the relevant sections of the report below. 6. Although there are instances where not all of the information is available at the present time, it is nevertheless important that Nottinghamshire County Council take this opportunity to provide strategic planning observations to Newark and Sherwood District Council, albeit that they may be made subject to caveats regarding the outstanding information. 7. Where appropriate in this report, suggestions are made for conditions to be attached to a planning permission, should Newark and Sherwood District Council grant consent. It is important to include this information to ensure that potential harm caused by the development can be avoided, mitigated or compensated for. 8. A point to note is that on 29th March 2006 a report was brought before Cabinet relating to a planning application for seven wind turbines at land at Stonish Hill and former Bilsthorpe Colliery, Eakring Road, Bilsthorpe. This application has not yet been determined by Newark and Sherwood District Council. Description of the proposed development 9. The application site (site plan attached) is located approximately 500 metres south west of the junction between the A617 and the B6020, to the south east of Mansfield. It lies to the west of the village of Rainworth and to the east of Harlow Wood. The entire windfarm site lies within Newark and Sherwood District, although it is close to the border of Mansfield District. 10. The site lies on arable farmland and the total site area is approximately 130 hectares. 11. The proposed development is for a windfarm consisting of five turbines, with associated infrastructure, including a substation building, an anemometer (to monitor wind speed) and access roads. The layout of the turbines is shown on the attached plan. 12. Each turbine is proposed to be a three bladed horizontal axis machine with a maximum hub height of 84 metres and a maximum blade diameter of 82 metres, giving a maximum height to blade tip of 125 metres. The application documents state that the exact model of turbine has not yet been selected, but the above figures are used as they represent the tallest potential wind turbine that would be erected on the site. (As a comparison, the chimney of the Eastcroft waste incinerator in Nottingham City is approximately 90 metres in height.) Indeed, they would be amongst the highest turbines so far installed on the UK mainland. 13. The installed capacity of the proposed windfarm, based on current proven technology, is between 8.25 and 12.5 MW. This equates to potentially providing enough electricity to supply the average annual electricity needs of between 4,700 and 5,100 homes each year. It is also estimated that the windfarm will contribute towards emission savings, offsetting up to around 18,900 to 20,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Whilst the above is based on the proposed capacity of the windfarm, it is worth noting that the application documents do not indicate the expected level of electricity generation from the turbines. 14. It is proposed that the windfarm will generate electricity for 25 years after which time the turbines and associated infrastructure would be decommissioned and removed from the site. A decision regarding whether the access tracks will remain in situ is proposed to be delayed until the time of decommissioning and will depend upon whether the disruption associated with such removal constitutes the best practicable environmental option at the time. Site Selection and Consultation 15. The ES outlines the site selection process adopted by the applicants to enable them to identify potential sites for onshore wind energy developments. A two stage process is used with the first stage being described as a “sieve-mapping” exercise to identify sites based on a number of broad criteria. 16. Potential sites which pass this initial stage then undergo a more detailed assessment. This second stage assessment includes a detailed evaluation of the following: • predicted wind resource; • proximity of dwellings; • electrical grid capacity; • landscape constraints; • nature conservation constraints; • access; • availability of land; • military and aviation constraints; and • development plans and policies. 17. During the second stage assessment in this case, consultations were undertaken and have informed the design and layout of the proposal and the content of the ES. Consultation prior to the submission of the planning application was undertaken both with statutory consultees, to inform the ES, and with the local public on the details of the proposed development, through newsletters, a dedicated website and a two-day fully staffed public exhibition held in Rainworth (in October 2005). 18. Nottinghamshire County Council provided comments on the Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report in a letter to Newark and Sherwood District Council (1st September 2005) stating that overall, the Scoping Report, and the approach to undertaking the Environmental Impact Assessment which it describes, was thorough and comprehensive. A number of suggestions for inclusion in the ES were put forward and these appear to have been taken into account in the application documents submitted here. 19. Through the consultation and assessment process, a number of modifications were made to the proposal, including reducing the number of turbines from seven to five and alterations to the layout of the turbines and substation in order to improve their visual appearance. 20. The applicants argue through the ES and other supporting documents, that this is an appropriate site for a windfarm which has been selected having due regard to the above factors. Planning Policy Context National Policy 21. The Government is committed to renewable energy. As set out in the Energy White Paper (2003) the aim is to put the UK on the path to cutting its carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050, with real progress by 2020, and the development of renewable energy is a key component of this. This is reinforced by the Government’s report on the 2006 Energy Review which proposes a range of measures, including strengthening of the Renewables Obligation (the key mechanism for the expansion of electricity from renewables) that, taken together, are intended to achieve 20% of UK electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020. 22. The Government has already set a target to generate 10% of UK electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010. This will be mainly measured by the amount of installed grid connected capacity which will add to the pool of green electricity available for purchase by consumers. 23. Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy (PPS22) outlines the key principles to which regional planning bodies and local planning authorities should adhere in their approach to planning for renewable energy (paragraph 1). A number of these principles concern how the issue of renewable energy should be dealt with at the plan making process both at regional and local authority level. However there are two principles of note in PPS22 that have a direct influence in this instance. 24. Principle 1 iv) states that “the wider environmental and economic benefits of all proposals for renewable energy projects, whatever their scale, are material considerations that should be given significant weight in determining whether proposals should granted planning permission”. Thus significant weight should be attributed to the benefits of the proposal in the decision making process. However principle 1 viii) states that “development proposals should demonstrate any environmental, economic and social benefits as well as how any environmental and social impacts have been minimised through careful consideration of location, scale, design and other measures” ensuring that the negative impacts caused by development are considered and where possible kept to an minimum. Regional Policy 25. Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands (RSS8) Policy 41 supports the development of renewable energy resources where environmental, economic and social impacts can be addressed satisfactorily. Policy 41 outlines a number of considerations to be taken into account in the formulation of policies for onshore wind energy in development plans and local development frameworks. 26. A renewable energy resource study for the region was completed in 2001 and was revisited in 2003. It forms an evidence base for the support of the sub-regional targets in RSS8. These targets are indicative and paragraph 4.3.57 of RSS8 states that it should not be inferred that once targets are met within an area, efforts should not continue to deliver additional renewable schemes.