The Planning Act 2008 (as amended) Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change _______________________________________ Philip Asquith Examining Authority 20 August 2015 This page intentionally left blank Report to the Secretary of State 1 Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm Examining Authority's findings and conclusions and recommendation in respect of the Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm application File Ref EN010020 The application, dated 30 July 2014, was made under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 and was received in full by The Planning Inspectorate on 31 July 2014. The Applicant is Mynydd y Gwynt Limited. The application was accepted for examination on 20 August 2014. The examination of the application began on 20 November 2014 and was completed on 20 May 2015. The development proposed comprises up to 27 turbines each with a generating capacity of between 3 and 3.3 megawatts (MW), providing a total generating capacity of up to 81 - 89.1 MW, underground electrical and communications cables, a substation, control building and satellite link, widening of 9.5km of existing tracks, approximately 6.9km of new tracks and installation of a meteorological monitoring mast up to 80m high. Summary of Recommendation: The Examining Authority recommends that the Secretary of State should make the Order in the form attached. Report to the Secretary of State 1 Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm Report Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 4 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 4 1.1 THE PRELIMINARY MEETING ...................................................... 5 1.2 THE EXAMINATION PROCESS ..................................................... 5 1.3 REQUESTS TO BECOME OR WITHDRAW FROM BEING AN INTERESTED PARTY (S102A, S102B AND S102ZA) ............................................... 10 1.4 UNDERTAKINGS/OBLIGATIONS GIVEN TO SUPPORT THE APPLICATION ... 10 1.5 STRUCTURE OF REPORT ......................................................... 10 2 MAIN FEATURES OF THE PROPOSAL AND SITE ....................... 11 2.0 THE APPLICATION AS MADE ..................................................... 11 2.1 THE APPLICATION AT THE CLOSE OF EXAMINATION ......................... 16 2.2 RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY ................................................. 17 3 LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT ................................................. 18 3.1 PLANNING ACT 2008 (AS AMENDED) ......................................... 18 3.2 NATIONAL POLICY STATEMENTS ................................................ 18 3.3 WELSH NATIONAL POLICIES AND GUIDANCE ................................. 20 3.4 UK LEGISLATION ................................................................. 22 3.5 EUROPEAN POLICIES AND RELATED UK REGULATIONS ...................... 23 3.6 THE LOCAL IMPACT REPORTS ................................................... 25 3.7 RELEVANT DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND OTHER LOCAL POLICIES .............. 26 3.8 THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S POWER TO MAKE A DCO ....................... 27 4 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS IN RELATION TO POLICY AND FACTUAL ISSUES .................................................................... 28 4.0 MAIN ISSUES IN THE EXAMINATION ........................................... 28 4.1 KEY ISSUES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICATION .............. 29 4.2 POLICY CONTEXT ................................................................. 30 4.3 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACTS ............................................. 38 4.4 CULTURAL HERITAGE ............................................................ 56 4.5 ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECTED SPECIES ........................ 67 4.6 HYDROLOGY, HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOLOGY ............................... 78 4.7 NOISE AND VIBRATION AND SHADOW FLICKER .............................. 81 4.8 PUBLIC ACCESS AND RIGHTS OF WAY ......................................... 83 4.9 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS .................................................... 86 4.10 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT ....................................................... 89 4.11 OTHER MATTERS ................................................................. 91 5 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS IN RELATION TO THE HABITATS REGULATIONS ........................................................................ 93 5.0 BACKGROUND .................................................................... 93 5.1 PROJECT LOCATION .............................................................. 94 5.2 HRA IMPLICATIONS OF PROJECT ............................................... 95 6 DRAFT DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER AND RELATED MATTERS ............................................................................................. 108 6.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 108 7 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ....................... 120 7.1 RECOMMENDATION ............................................................ 126 Report to the Secretary of State 2 Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm Appendices Contents APPENDIX A: RECOMMENDED DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER APPENDIX B: EXAMINATION LIBRARY APPENDIX C: REPORT ON THE IMPACT ON EUROPEAN SITES (RIES) APPENDIX D: EVENTS IN THE EXAMINATION APPENDIX E: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Report to the Secretary of State 3 Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.0.1 Mynydd y Gwynt Ltd (the Applicant) was founded by the owners of the Sweet Lamb Rally complex together with a local businessman, specifically for the Mynydd y Gwynt (MyG) Wind Farm (the proposed development). The Applicant operates under the support and direction of the independent power producer Renewable Energy Holdings Plc. 1.0.2 The proposed development for which consent is sought comprises an onshore wind farm in Powys, east of Aberystwyth, of up to 27 turbines with a generating capacity of up to 81- 89.1 megawatts (MW). The location of the application site is shown in Figures 1.1 [AD-123] and 1.2 [AD-124] of the accompanying environmental statement (ES), as well as on the Land Plan, a final updated version of which was received at Deadline X [D10-025]. The site lies wholly in Wales and therefore comprises a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) as defined by sections (s)14(1)(a) and 15(2) of the Planning Act 2008 (PA2008). 1.0.3 On 2 May 2013 the Applicant notified the Planning Inspectorate ('the Inspectorate') under regulation 6(1)(b) of The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (as amended)1 (the EIA Regulations) that an ES would be provided in respect of the scheme. The application was accompanied by an ES which satisfied the definition in Regulation 2(1) of the EIA Regs [AD-054 to AD-071]. 1.0.4 A range of issues has been assessed and set out in the ES. The ES includes details of measures proposed to mitigate likely significant effects (LSE) identified by the Applicant. Additional information was provided by the Applicant throughout the Examination in response to my questions, and comments and queries raised by Interested Parties (IPs). These matters are addressed in my assessment in this report. The Applicant provided information within the ES on the main alternatives studied. This relates to the consideration of alternative turbines and their transport, and flexibility in choice given the continuing technological development of turbine design [ES Chapter 2, AD-055]. I am satisfied that the ES, together with the additional information provided during the course of the Examination, was adequate and meets the requirements under the EIA Regulations. 1.0.5 The application [AD-001 to AD-356], dated 30 July 2014, was made under section 37 of the PA2008 and was received in full by the Inspectorate on 31 July 2014. It was accepted for examination on 20 August 2014 [PrD-02]. 1 Statutory instrument 2009 No. 2263 Report to the Secretary of State 4 Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm 1.0.6 The Inspectorate issued s51 advice2 to the Applicant on 21 August 2014 to be read in conjunction with the published s55 Acceptance of Applications Checklist [PrD-01]. The s51 advice was issued due to concern as to whether a Book of Reference should be provided with the application since s44 consultees had been identified in the Consultation Report [AD-007]. In response to my First Written Questions (FWQ) [PrD-05], the Applicant confirmed that no Book of Reference was required; the consultees referred to and listed as 'participants in the scheme' are the landowners. No compulsory acquisition of land or rights has been sought or is required. 1.0.7 On 20 October 2014 the Applicant gave notice [PD-01] under s56 of the PA2008 and confirmed to the Inspectorate under s58 that its duty under s56 had been carried out. 1.0.8 My appointment as a Single Examining Inspector to be the Examining Authority (ExA) for this application was confirmed in Annex F to my Rule 4 and 6 letter [PrD-03], dated 27 October 2014, inviting IPs to the Preliminary Meeting (PM). 1.0.9 This report sets out my findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Secretary of State (SoS) for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). 1.0.10 A list of the procedural decisions [PrD-01 to PrD-22] I have made as the appointed ExA is provided in the Examination Library appended to this report (Appendix B). 1.1 THE PRELIMINARY MEETING 1.1.1 The PM was held on 20 November 2014 at which the Applicant and all IPs, Statutory Parties and other parties were able