Generating light on landscape impacts - Campaign to Protect Rural ...

Return to contents17Case study 6: decommissioningIn 1991 a local planning authority in North Yorkshire grantedplanning permission to build four wind turbines at Chelker.Today only one wind turbine remains operational, but the localplanning authority, which is keen to see the broken turbinesremoved, is facing legal barriers to achieving this. The local watercompany, which runs the turbines, is currently seeking planningpermission to replace the existing turbines with two new turbineswhich will be taller, and are likely to have an unacceptable impacton the southern part of the Yorkshire Wolds National Park, theNidderdale AONB and the Grade I listed Bolton Abbey.29. Issues surrounding decommissioning are a particular concernbecause Planning Inspectors are now using the lifetime of onshorewind proposals as a justification for granting permissions. A PlanningInspector approved an application at Weston Longville in Norfolk, forexample, because he determined that the 25 year permission madethe structure temporary, at least in landscape terms (Annex 1). This isnot a satisfactory approach. Onshore wind developers should adoptlegally binding financial safeguards, such as bonds which are secureduntil the site or individual turbines reach the end of their life, to ensurethat onshore wind turbines will be dismantled once they stop workingor reach the end of their useful life and the landscape restored to itsformer state, even if the company subsequently ceases to exist.When a wind turbine comesto the end of its useful lifeit should be removed fromthe landscapeRecommendation: The Government should require theonshore wind industry to take legal and financial responsibilityfor decommissioning onshore wind turbines and restoring thelandscape once they stop working or when they reach the endof their useful life.<strong>Generating</strong> <strong>light</strong> on landscape impacts: How to accommodate onshore wind while protecting the countryside