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

Return to contentsIntroduction41. Climate change poses a major threat to the character, quality anddiversity of England’s countryside. CPRE supports the Government’starget, enshrined in the Climate Change Act 2008, to reduce greenhousegas emissions by 80% by 2050 and source 15% of UK energy fromrenewable sources by 2020. Renewable energy, including onshore wind,will play an important role in helping to achieve our carbon reductiontargets. But because all forms of energy generation have a harmfulimpact on the landscape, and the environment more generally, the toppriority should be to focus on reducing the need for more infrastructureby setting and meeting ambitious energy efficiency and overall energydemand reduction targets.2. Decisions made today will have a lasting effect on the countryside.In pursuing our national carbon reduction and renewable energy targetswe must not ignore other important and established environmentalobjectives, particularly the protection of valued landscapes fromdamaging development. CPRE has done a considerable amount of workto analyse what impact different kinds of development have on thecountryside in terms of their intrusion and impact on beautiful places. 1Experiencing tranquillity in beautiful landscapes is beneficial to humanhealth and well-being, which is one reason why millions of people visitthe countryside every year. The quality of this experience is threatenedby poorly conceived and located development of whatever kind. It isclear that onshore wind development, unless appropriately sited, canhave a significant detrimental impact on the quality of the landscape.3. The location and extent of onshore wind development therefore needsto be carefully controlled. Local communities, interested in ensuringthat development in the countryside, including onshore wind, isappropriate and balanced, increasingly feel that individual onshorewind applications, which are proliferating rapidly, are unconnected to awider national renewable energy strategy. By having a clear idea of thenational contribution of onshore wind, communities would find it easierto engage with individual planning applications within the planningsystem. We should ensure that local communities feel genuinely able tohave an influence through the planning system, steering onshore windapplications to the right places.4. In 2011, the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change,Chris Huhne, reassured CPRE that efforts to tackle climate change didnot mean the Government would ‘wantonly plant wind farms across thecountry at random’ or let ‘market forces loose upon the countryside’. 2CPRE has consistently argued that a planning system which is locallyaccountable, adopts a strategic approach and takes account oflandscape capacity, should be able to promote renewable energy,including onshore wind, while protecting cherished countryside andimproving well-being. A locally accountable planning system alsohelps to reassure communities that development is appropriate andnecessary, rather than foisted on them through processes over whichthey have little control.CPRE supports theGovernment’s target,enshrined in the ClimateChange Act 2008, toreduce greenhouse gasemissions by 80% by 2050and source 15% of UKenergy from renewablesources by 20201Land Use Consultants, Developing anIntrusion Map of England, CPRE, 20072Secretary of State for DECC, Chris Huhne’sspeech to CPRE entitled ‘Beauty,Tranquillity, and Power Stations?’, 2011<strong>Generating</strong> <strong>light</strong> on landscape impacts: How to accommodate onshore wind while protecting the countryside