Planning Updates

Appeal submitted to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government - 26 March 2012

Unfortunately councillors on the planning committee of North Dorset District Council chose to reject the advice of their professional planning officers and refused our planning application in March 2011.

Having reviewed the reasons for refusal which relate to the potential impact on landscape, residential amenity and historic assets we have chosen to submit an appeal to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

The outcome of that appeal will be decided by an Inspector who is hearing the evidence over two sessions held in March and September 2012.

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Appeal Submitted - 19 September 2011

We have submitted an appeal for the refusal of our wind park near Silton that would make green energy for thousands of homes, as the latest report shows that Dorset still has one of the poorest records on green energy in Britain.
 
Despite being twice recommended for approval by its own planning officers, North Dorset District Council’s planning committee turned down our plans for just four windmills at a meeting in March, leaving Dorset as one of the last counties in England still to have no large-scale working windmills at all.
 
Our appeal will be lodged with the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol, which will then convene a hearing to objectively consider both sides of the case before making a decision.
 
Dorset’s green energy credentials lag far behind the rest of England: it still generates just 0.95% of its energy needs from renewables – less than a third of the national average.
 
Over 85% of people in Dorset still support or strongly support the development of renewable energy in the county. And despite vigorous and vocal protests against wind energy from interest groups, the majority of Dorset residents still back onshore wind.
 
Let’s hope this time the voices of the local majority get heard, and Dorset takes its first positive step towards a greener future.

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Revised application submitted - 26 July 2010

We have submitted the revised application for 4 turbines to the Council. They, the community and their elected representatives are in the process of reviewing it before making their recommendation. We are hoping that this will be taken to planning committee in the coming weeks with a positive recommendation to planning committee.

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A revised proposal - 12 May 2010

Our application for six turbines went to committee late last year. Planning officers felt that the proposal met all their strict criteria and satisfied environmental standards, but it was clear at the committee meeting that some of its members and some people in the local community still had concerns with the proposal regarding landscape and cultural heritage, and the methodology of the noise monitoring studies.

Our aim is always to bring maximum environmental benefit with minimum environmental impact. In response to this feedback, we have spent the last few months working hard to address these main concerns by undertaking further detailed assessments. We have now adjusted the proposal accordingly by revising the layout and number of turbines on the site, and also undertaking additional noise monitoring at nearby residences.

The revised proposal now consists of four turbines, which position the wind park further away from Silton village. The proposed turbines remain the modern, ultra-quiet gearless model that were in the previous application, which together will produce 20 million units of green electricity each year, the equivalent usage of an impressive 6,200 homes.

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Reassessing the design of the site - 10 November 2009

This project was recommended for approval by the Council's own planning department in a 106 page report, but the planning committee voted to turn it down. We withdrew the application and are reassessing the design of the site to see if we can accommodate some of the comments by third parties, including those made by the planning committee.

We operate over 50 turbines the length and breadth of the country. All of our projects have proven themselves to be good neighbours and we would not proceed at Silton unless we can be certain of the same outcome - that's a crucial test we apply to all possible sites. The truth about wind energy today is that properly designed and sited modern wind turbines don’t cause problems for neighbours. With wind energy there is really only one residual impact to discuss – the fact that you can see them. To some people this is a good thing and to others it is not – it is of course in the eye of the beholder.

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Silton Wind Park application turned down - 02 July 2009

Unfortunately the North Dorset district councillors voted against their own council's recommendation to approve the scheme. A number of local residents spoke against the scheme, citing impact on local amenity and health problems despite the council's own assessments to the contrary. The councillors voted unanimously to refuse the application and we await the formal committee hearing report.

This is very disappointing, but not really a surprise. It shows once again that local councils are just not capable of making these decisions. North Dorset council have taken 12 months to make a decision, which is supposed to have been made in four - and even though their own planning officers have recommended approval in a 106 page document - the councillors have not had the backbone to endorse that. Gordon Brown needs to get to grips with this, every week we hear of a new target being set or adopted for onshore wind energy - there's no chance of hitting any of them until the government ends the absurd anomaly of Wind Energy being the only energy source in the UK that gets its planning consent from local councils. Local councils like North Dorset that prove themselves time and again unfit for the job. We will now have to take this to the government for a second opinion, via an appeal - that's where the decision needs to be taken from the start, to save a lot of time and hassle and speed up our response to climate change.

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Recommended for approval - 18 June 2009

Good news, the Committee Report for the Silton Wind Park was released today with an officer recommendation for approval.

The 106 page report concludes that the Wind Park will contribute significantly to renewable energy targets and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. Decision day is the 2nd of July when the committee will consider the report and hopefully give the go ahead.

Read the full Commitee Report

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Facebook Support! - 17 December 2008

Local support is always welcome.

Nice to know we're not the only ones who think wind turbines would look cool in Silton.

Gillingham Facebook Group

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Your support is needed - 01 July 2008

We now have a selection of photomontages (within a 2.5km radius) and information on the proposal available online. In addition a full copy of the application is available to view at the North Dorset District Council offices at Blandford Forum.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us on silton@ecotricity.co.uk