Planning Updates

Results from the planning committee meeting - 26 October 2011

Well this application was taken to planning committee in February and the Planning Committee would not determine it as needed “more information”. We are still not sure what they needed as we were never asked for more information and the officer’s report was over 70 pages long! Then it got taken to committee again in July but the decision was deferred for a 2nd time as too many people came to the Planning Committee and not all of them could fit into the chamber.

Many of these people were raising the concern that turbines were too close to their homes. As a result Honda and Ecotricity reviewed the 3 turbine application and submitted an alternative option of 2 turbines to Swindon Borough Council in August. The removal of this 3rd turbine doubled the distance of a turbine to a house.

Both options were taken to a Special Planning Committee held at the Wyvern Theatre on the 13th October 2011 with the Council’s planning officer recommending approving the application. The elected Planning Committee went against their officer’s advice and refused both the 3 and the 2 turbine option due to their perceived impact on the landscape. The locations of the turbines were within the Honda Manufacturing site which sits within a wider industrial park and is next to the A419.

We are now determining with Honda if we should appeal this decision. Honda Swindon has been set targets for CO2 reduction for 2020 in order to stay competitive within the global manufacturing base of Honda. The 3 turbines would have created enough electricity to power the equivalent of half of all houses in Swindon and gone a long way to hitting Honda’s targets for CO2 reduction thereby securing their place within Swindon after 2020. Honda needs to now resolve the question; if wind turbines are not suitable from of renewable energy generation for Swindon Borough Council’s elected members what other technologies are possible.......

---

Awaiting a decision - 14 January 2011

This application is still to be reviewed by the local council’s planning department. We hope that it will be taken to planning committee in February, fingers crossed for a yes!

---

Letters sent out - 12 October 2010

Since we submitted our planning application, Honda and Ecotricity have been working to keep people in the local community informed about the progress of the application. At the weekend, a letter was sent out from Honda and Ecotricity which can be viewed here, in the hope of reassuring members of the community who were receiving inaccurate information by those opposed to the application.

---

Results of the public exhibition - 15 July 2010

On the 24th and 30th June we held public exhibitions in South Marston and Upper Stratton to inform local residents of the proposals and answer any questions and queries that they may have.

The main questions and queries from local residents were around if they would be able to hear the turbines operating and if their houses would be affected by shadow flicker. Both of these effects have been looked at in detail and we were able to explain that local residents should not be able to hear the wind turbines operating and the effect of shadow flicker has been fully modelled and can be resolved by programming the wind turbine to stop operating for any time that shadow flicker could occur.

Honda and Ecotricity have now submitted the planning application to Swindon Borough Council. It is accompanied by a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which contains the findings of all the assessments that we have completed prior to this submission. All of this documentation is available for viewing at Swindon Borough Council.

---

Three turbines - 14 June 2010

Since March we have been carrying out a host of environmental studies, including completing the background noise assessments. This work was carried out to ensure that any proposal would not adversely impact on local residents. The findings of this background noise assessment has determined that with the proposed four  turbine layout the site could not operate without impacting on some local residents south of the A419 in Kenwin Close. The issue was at night time when the traffic flow on the A419 decreases dramatically and so the background noise levels are far quieter. As a result the nearest turbine to them may, in certain wind directions, have been heard. 

This was not acceptable for Ecotricity, so as a result we have altered the proposed layout of the turbines. The site design now consists of three turbines, with the turbine in the southerly section of the HUM site being removed. The specification of the remaining turbines are the same as when it was a four turbine design.

---

EIA work progresses - 22 April 2010

We are progressing nicely with the various elements of Environmental Assessment work that we need to complete to ensure this site is suitable for wind turbines. Part of this work is establishing the existing background noise levels. We’re currently undertaking this work and various residents around the Honda site have allowed our independent acoustic engineers to place noise level monitoring equipment in their gardens.

We have also been continuing our discussions with Swindon Borough Council and the statutory consultees to determine what environmental factors they would like to be assessed and included in any planning application we make, and the methodologies that they should follow.

---

Early stages for Honda Swindon - 11 December 2009

Ecotricity is investigating the possibility of installing up to four wind turbine at Honda’s Swindon site. Honda will be working in partnership with Ecotricity to manage this initiative. A scoping request has been submitted to Swindon Borough Council who has advised us on the specific details they want covered in all the environmental assessments.

We are now in the process of gathering all this information which will determine the number, location and size of turbines suitable for this site. The project is at an early stage. If the proposal was to progress any further a comprehensive public consultation programme would be undertaken.