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1671 Onshore Wind (Planning Policy) 6 JUNE 2013 Onshore Wind (Planning Policy) 1672
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD):
I find myself much in accord with the Minister’s expressions
of support for balance, as that is absolutely right, but I
have some concerns that the pendulum might swing too
far the other way. Will he be carefully monitoring things
as the new guidance is implemented?
Mr Prisk: I will certainly monitor where the pendulum
sits with the greatest of care.
Stephen Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con):
In joining colleagues in welcoming the announcement,
may I pay tribute to the work of my right hon. Friend
the Member for South Holland and The Deepings
(Mr Hayes) on this issue?
May I push the Minister to be clear that where an
appeal has concluded taking evidence but the inspector
has not published their decision, today’s announcement
will be taken into account, because that will give great
comfort to my constituents, particularly those in Tydd
St Giles, who are awaiting a decision on 17 July?
Mr Prisk: Where no decision has been published, as
would be the case for local planners at that stage in the
process, planning inspectors will now have to give
consideration to this change in the guidance.
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con): My constituents
in Bury North will warmly welcome this statement.
Many of them can already see a massive wind farm
development over at Scout Moor, but it is very often the
individual turbines going here, there and everywhere
across my constituency that create a great deal of concern.
Can the Minister confirm that these guidelines will
apply to individual turbine applications, as well as those
for large farms, which may already be affecting the
landscape?
Mr Prisk: As I said earlier, we are trying to make sure
that the principal concern people have about the impact,
and particularly the cumulative impact, is properly and
clearly set out in the guidance. That will make sure that
decisions on the kinds of application to which my hon.
Friend refers will be influenced in the same way.
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): I congratulate
my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-
Harris) on leading the campaign against wind farms in
this House, and I have a sneaking feeling that I can
detect the hand of my right hon. Friend the Member for
South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) in this
new revised policy.
Until now, planning applications were refused for
wind farms, but on appeal were granted. Under this
new guidance, as I understand it, if local councils act
properly and say no to a wind farm, normally they will
not be overturned on appeal. Am I right in thinking
that?
Mr Prisk: My hon. Friend is right to highlight that
there have been a number of contributions in this
particular debate. What I would say to him is that we
want to make sure the system is balanced. What most
constituents have been concerned about—I am, perhaps,
speaking now as a constituency MP—is that they feel
their views are ridden roughshod over. That is what my
hon. Friend referred to, and that is what we are seeking
to correct.
Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD): I note the Minister’s
emphasis on significant and cumulative impact. Does
he agree that minimum separation distances, as espoused
by Wiltshire council, are arbitrary and therefore totally
incapable of taking that into account?
Mr Prisk: We are not promoting buffer zones, as I
think they are known in that context. We are a localist
Government, and we want to make sure that the councils,
which are accountable to their local electorates, take the
appropriate decisions. The fact that we have specifically
highlighted the issue of cumulative impact can, I think,
give my hon. Friend some reassurance.
Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con): In addition
to the turbines we already have, sometimes turning, in
my constituency, we have 70 further ones consented, the
largest development being for 34 turbines on the Isle of
Axholme, which was granted by the previous Government
on appeal, against the wishes of local people. Just
yesterday another wind farm application was rejected,
and a couple of weeks ago I spoke at an appeal against
yet another wind farm application. Therefore, while I
welcome the announcement, as will my constituents,
may I urge the Minister to do a full and thorough
review of how the appeal system works, because it is
often at that point that my constituents are let down,
not by their democratically elected councillors?
Mr Prisk: I understand that point, and the Secretary
of State, the planning Minister, my hon. Friend the
Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles), and
I are all very much aware of the need to make sure
planning at the local level and at appeals runs appropriately,
and we will always give consideration to representations.
Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con):
I welcome the statement, which will also be welcomed
by the constituents of Harrogate and Knaresborough,
where there have been significant concerns about
developments of a proposed wind farm along the Knabs
ridge area. Does the Minister agree that the measures
announced will help to address the confusion and anger
about the fact that local landscapes and local environments
can be damaged in the name of protecting our environment?
Mr Prisk: I know that my hon. Friend is a fantastic
campaigner for local people in his glorious part of
Yorkshire. I think he is absolutely right and he can now
say to his constituents that this is a Government who
are on their side.
Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con): This is wonderful
news and the result of a long campaign. I welcome the
announcement, because in Northumberland we have
sporadic applications and sporadic wind farms that
have no impact other than destroying the landscape in a
very bad way. Cumulative impact is a massive issue, but
how will it go into a local development plan when a
local authority has not completed a local development
plan thus far?