SCHEDULE A Complex Planning Applications SCHEDULE No: 5 SL/2013/04 01 BURTON IN KENDAL: BURTON MOTORWAY SERVICES AREA, M6, BURTON-IN-KENDAL, CARNFORTH LA6 1JF PROPOSAL: SINGLE WIND TURBINE (UP TO 70M TO BLADE TIP) WITH ASSOCIATED ACCESS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Website Link: MR TONY RAVEN http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/fastweb/detail.asp?AltRef=SL/2013/ 0401 E352202.2 N476171.4 29/08/2013 SUMMARY Siting of single wind turbine 70 metres high to blade tip adjacent to Burton Motorway Services. The development straddles the boundary between South Lakeland and Lancaster City administrative areas. Revised submission of previously approved scheme. Impacts considered to be acceptable. DESCRIPTION AND PROPOSAL: Site Description: The site is an area of agricultural land (0.2 hectares) which is bordered by trees and hedgerows to the east, north and south. The land is located on the western side of the M6 motorway, between Junctions 35 and 36 and is 6km to the north of the town of Carnforth. Land levels within the site fall away from the site access off Tarn Lane to the south. There is a group of buildings to the northern end of the site that form Burton-in- Kendal (M6) Services which is operated by Moto Hospitality Limited. The service area comprises a motel, shop, café/restaurant and a petrol station. There are also areas of hard standing (tarmac) including access roads and vehicle parking areas. The site access is a private road for the use of employees of the service station. The site is surrounded on three sides by farmland, which consists of a mix of arable and pasture grassland and fields enclosed by a network of hawthorn hedgerows. The land is situated between the villages of Burton-in-Kendal to the east and Yealand Redmayne to the west. The nearest residential properties are Ashfield and Cinderbarrow Farm which are approximately 560m to the south west of the site and Cinderbarrow Cottage which is approximately 600m to the south west. The site is approximately 800m to the east of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is 6.3km to the south east of the Lake District National Park. The Lancaster Canal runs in a north/south direction and lies approximately 380m away from the site. Yealand Conservation Area is 1.6km to the west of the site and the village of Burton-in-Kendal 1 km to the west also has Conservation Area designation. On a wider scale the Bowland Fells Special Protected Area (SPA) is located approximately 15km to the south; Morecambe Bay SPA is approximately 6 kilometres to the south-west and Leighton Moss SPA lies approximately 3.5km to the west of the application site. Proposal: This application represents a revised resubmission of Lancaster City Council planning application reference 11/00172/FUL which sought full planning consent application for the ‘Erection of a single 330kW wind turbine (maximum height to tip of 67 metres) and associated infrastructure’. The development site, (including its access track) is located within the administrative boundary of Lancaster City Council, with a blade over sail of approximately 2 metres traversing into the South Lakeland District Council administrative area. The works within the administrative area of South Lakeland District Council fall within the definition of development contained within Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, requiring the submission of a full planning application to the authority for determination. The application proposes to erect a single wind turbine in a small area of arable land located at the southern end of the grounds of the service station. The proposed will comprise a turbine with a maximum hub height of 44m and a tip height of 70m. The submitted plans illustrate the erection of either the Gamesa G52 500kW turbine with a 44m hub height and a 70m tip height or the EWT DW54 500kW turbine with a hub height of 40m and a tip height of 67m. The turbine will either export power directly to the national grid via the 11kV line which runs adjacent to the proposed turbine location, or would be connected to the on-site substation and provide power directly to the service area. Where the existing 11kV power lines run closest to the wind turbine, these will be either re-routed overhead or buried underground. It is indicated that the turbine will generate 1,414,740 kWh per annum which equates to 89% of the electrical energy needs of the service area. The proposed turbine would be a 3 bladed, horizontal axis wind turbine and would be off white in colour and have a steel monopole tower. Subject to the final specification of the turbine model and configuration, two small ancillary glass reinforced plastic buildings would be erected within the confines of the application site comprising a transformer station adjacent to the base and a substation building located approximately 13m from its base. The buildings would be dark green or brown in colour. In order to accommodate the installation and maintenance of the wind turbine an access track and crane hard standing area will be constructed. The new access track will commence 40m along the existing service road and run across the field to the turbine for a distance of 95m. An area of hard standing will be created for the siting of crane platforms during turbine assembly and as a vehicle turning area. This area will commence 50m along the new access track and will be 30m by 35m in size. Site History: The application site was the subject of a full planning application for the ‘Erection of a single 330kW wind turbine (maximum height to tip of 67 metres) and associated infrastructure’ under Lancaster City Council planning application reference 11/00172/FUL. South Lakeland District Council as a consultee in respect of this application raised the following objections to the proposals: “The visual dominance of the turbine would outweigh the benefits of renewable energy. By reason of its height, movement and distinctive appearance, the proposed turbine would have a significant adverse visual effect on the surrounding area. The turbine would be particularly prominent in the wider landscape when viewed from the east and west and, as a consequence, would cause substantial visual harm.” The application was considered by members of the Lancaster City Council Planning Committee on the 25 th July 2011 and was approved in line with the recommendation of officers. This consent remains valid and lawfully capable of implementation subject to the achievement of the relevant requirements of the planning conditions imposed upon the consent. CONSULTATIONS: Parish Councils Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) No objections to the proposed development subject to the correct notification and charting of the development as per the international civil aviation requirements in the interests of Aviation Safety. British Gliding Association No consultation response received Lancaster Constabulary HQ No specific comments or observations. The wind turbine would not represent a significant hazard to the Air Service. Ministry of Defence: Safeguarding and Turbines (MOD) No objection. In the interests of air safety the MOD requests that all turbines are fitted with 25 candela omni-directional red lighting or infrared aviation lighting with an optimised flash patterns of 60 flashes per minute of 200ms to 500ms duration at the highest practicable point. An informative is requested requiring confirmation of design, location and construction parameters to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation Safeguarding department of the MOD. National Air Traffic Services (En Route) (NATS) No objection. The proposed development has been examined from a technical safeguarding aspect and does not conflict with our safeguarding criteria. Accordingly, NATS (En Route) Public Limited Company (“NERL”) has no safeguarding objection to the proposal. North West Ambulance Service No consultation response received. Environmental and Ecological Cumbria Wildlife Trust No consultation response received. Environment Agency No comments to make in respect of the proposals Natural England (NE) The application site is approximately 6.3 km from Morecambe Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This SSSI is part of the Morecambe Bay Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Ramsar site. Natura 2000 site – No objection The development if completed in accordance with the details submitted is not likely to have a significant effect on the interest features for which Morecambe Bay SPA, SAC and Ramsar site have been classified. Natural England therefore advises that your Authority is not required to undertake an Appropriate Assessment to assess the implications of this proposal on the site’s conservation objectives. SSSI – No objection Natural England is satisfied that the proposed development being carried out in strict accordance with the details of the application, as submitted, will not damage or destroy the interest features for which the site has been notified. We therefore advise your authority that this SSSI does not represent a constraint in determining this application. Should the details of this application change, Natural England draws your attention to Section 28(I) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), requiring your authority to re-consult Natural England Landscape As mentioned in our previous response (reference 27322), this proposal lies approximately 800 metres east of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) boundary. The Landscape and Visual Assessment (LVIA) that has been undertaken acknowledges that there would be some localised significant effects along a limited length of the eastern fringe of the AONB. The assessment concludes that there are likely to be significant visual effects from localised parts of Burton-in-Kendal, Holme, Yealand Redmayne and Yealand Conyers. The Planning Authority may wish to consider this in the local context and consider whether the magnitude of change is acceptable within the locality.